Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons
by Kandaluvr
Summary: Hiccup, the new hero of Berk. Rapunzel is Princess and hero of a small kingdom, engaged to the love of her life, Merida is a headstrong princess of Clan Dunbroch who finally created strong bonds with her family, and Jack, who just became a Guardian of children all over the world. What happens when all are put together to fight a threat that could destroy everything they love?
1. Chapter 1

Hiccup sighed as he tapped his foot impatiently on the frozen ground. It had been a full five minutes since Toothless had taken off after something he had seen in … without him. It was getting chilly out- like usual- and he just wanted to go home.

A whoosh above him indicated the dragon's return and he looked up just in time for the blur of blue tinted black scales to jump out of the tree and land in front of him with a light 'thud'. Hiccup smiled and looked down at the light green cat-like pools that were Toothless'.

"Took you long enough. What was it you saw up there?" he asked, patting his best friend's head and looking up, where he still saw nothing out of the ordinary. Storm clouds, but Berk always had storm clouds.

Toothless snorted in some sort of irritation and nodded his head up, indicating that he wanted Hiccup to just get on so they could get home. Hiccup shook his head good-naturedly and climbed into the saddle, slipping his metal-crafted foot into its special hook.

"Let's go home." He said, and with that, the two friends took off in a blur.

"Hiccup!" Stoick the Vast shouted happily as his son landed in the center of the town. "I was beginning to wonder if you were coming home today." He slapped his son on the back, probably harder than he really should have, almost sending Hiccup sprawling on the ground.

"Ow." Hiccup muttered. "No- I'm here. Just like always. Just… sightseeing with Toothless."

"You mean you got lost?" Gobber's sarcastic voice came from behind Stoick, who laughed heartily at his friend. Hiccup huffed in irritation, subconsciously putting his hand on Toothless's side.

"N-no! I didn't get lost." He said with a haughty breath. "I just- got sidetracked." He defended himself. Gobber just laughed at this and started off towards the eating hall.

"Let's git' ye some food. I swear ye be gitt'n thinner by the hou'r." he said, also slapping his old apprentice's back.  
Hiccup nodded and followed behind his father and mentor, bidding Toothless adieu with a nod of his head as the said dragon went off to play with the other dragons while Hiccup ate. Hiccup didn't like being separated from his best friend for too long, but dragons weren't allowed in the eating hall. With a long sigh, he turned back to his other companions.

"- an' then I told 'im that he couldn't eat all it, so guess what th' ol' dragon does?!"

"He… ate it?"

"Yes! He goes off an' eats the whole thing! One swoop of 'is big ol' jaws and he swallows the thing whole!" His father was telling some odd tale, probably about one of the dragons in the hunting group. Hiccup let his thoughts wander as he walked a step behind them, hoping that they didn't try to drag him into their conversation.

It wasn't that he didn't love his father, or that he didn't get along with anyone, but he sometimes hated all of the attention he was getting since he had brought dragons into their daily living. He loved the dragons, and of course the people in his village were important to him. They always had been, given his father was the tribe leader. That aside, it was certainly strange to be friends with people that had mocked and doubted him his entire life before then. Not to mention that Toothless had been acting strange too lately. Like running off without him. It didn't worry Hiccup too much, he knew Toothless couldn't fly without him, so he couldn't stray too far. And now he was letting his thoughts stray too far.

Suddenly the lighting in the sky illuminated the village, small children screamed as the following thunder boomed loudly, shaking the houses and trees. But that wasn't the strange part.

Hiccup was filled with a sudden feeling of… well he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Doubt? No… and it wasn't fear, or was it?

He looked up at the sky, the strange feeling eating away at his gut.

"Hiccup?" Stoick asked, looking back at his son and tearing him out of his thoughts. "Are you alright?" Hiccup looked at him.

"Y-yeah. Yeah I think so."

He hoped so.

* * *

Merida groaned.

"Boys! Mum'll kill ye when she gets back!" she scolded, looking down at the mess her three little terrors of brothers had made. Pastries and mead covered the stony ground while some sort of tapestry was crumpled in the corner, replaced by a rather ugly rug made with bear fur.

Her brothers just stuck their tongues out and ran off, their little feet padding on the ground in a scurry. Merida groaned even louder, realizing that she would be the one that had to clean up the mess- or she would be hearing it from her mother later.

Glancing at the window, she realized that it was raining heavily outside, water pounding heavily against the windows and doors. Funny, how hadn't she heard that?

Well between yelling at her brothers and trying to get the castle in order, she wasn't too surprised she had missed it.

Her mother and father had gone on a trip to one of the fellow tribes to go and help resolve some problem that had come up. She didn't know the details, but she wasn't going to ask. If it had involved her, she was sure that her Mother or Father would have let it slip before they had left.

"yer gonna pay for this later!" She shouted after her brothers, grabbing the rug off of the wall and throwing it over the Mead mess. "They won't notice." She muttered to herself, hanging the tapestry back up on the wall with much difficulty. She knew full well that they would notice. And by they, she meant her mother. It took her six tries to hook the right loop to the first rod, and she nearly fell off of the stool doing it.

She sighed when she finished the first half, groaning as she glanced out the window again. Father would be in a right mood, having to ride through such weather. He would complain for ages about his aching leg. With much exaggeration of course, and then somehow end up telling the tale of how he lost said leg to Mordu. She wouldn't have minded so much if she hadn't been stuck taking care of the triplets. But Maudie was off with one of the clansmen from MacGuffin's Clan.

Lighting flashed. Merida yelped as she fell off the stool, landing harshly on her backside. She glared out the window, hating the strange foreboding that filled her gut.

"I hope Mum and Dad get home soon." She muttered, setting up the stool again.

* * *

**YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG I HAVE WANTED TO DO THIS! **

**Kay. I hope you like, tell me what you think so far! (I know it's not much to think on, but I love hearing from you!) **


	2. Chapter 2

"I think purple flowers would make it just… sparkle!" Rapunzel giggled, holding the said object up to the beautiful white gown that was hung on a fitted dummy. "Don't you think?"

"I think you're the expert." Eugene said, hugging his fiancé around her shoulders. He rested his chin on her brown haired head, the short style tickling his chin lightly. "I also think it's getting late. Everyone needs to sleep sometime. Even you." He teased. The princess sighed and turned to look at him.

"I know… but I'm just so excited! I mean… We're getting married! I want everything to be perfect!" She said excitedly. Eugene smiled.

"I'm sure it will be, but you still need sleep." He told her, playfully poking her nose. She scrunched it up and then smiled again.

"Alright, I guess we'll get back to work tomorrow." She said, hugging the taller man. "Night."

"Goodnight." He said, watching her go to her room, and then starting off for his own.

Rapunzel flopped on her bed. She hadn't realized how tired she really was until Eugene had told her she was. She smiled to herself and snuggled into her pillow taking a glance out the window. Rain was running down the tiled windows and she could see flashes of lightning outside, illuminating the kingdom it hung over. She frowned, sitting up on her bed, going over to the window with light steps.

"I've never seen rain like this." She muttered, pulling the curtains closed. She hoped that Maximus had been sensible enough to go into the stalls so he didn't get drenched.

Well…It wasn't like she had seen too much weather around the kingdom anyway- it had only been a year since she had escaped the tower and had been reunited with her parents, thanks to Eugene… but she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"Oh… snap out of it Rapunzel! Nothing's wrong! You're just tired, like Eugene said!" She reassured herself.

* * *

A cold breeze rushed through the skies as a blur of blue and white whizzed by. Jack laughed as he flew over the town, spreading snowstorms just in time for Christmas. Spinning and diving, the winter spirit used every ounce of fun he had in his blood to spread the wintery weather.

Calling on the wind, Jack flew quickly home, watching the world whizz by in a blur of lights and noises.

"Well that's done." He smiled. Watching the fluffy, white crystals fall slowly towards the ground, an occasional wind making them flurry around. He laughed, diving down to the ground until he landed lightly on solid ground. He hoisted his staff onto his shoulder and walked through the forest that he had adopted as his home for 300 some years.

Looking up, he admired his handiwork, the stormy clouds spewing the snowflakes in gusts of wind. Subconsciously, he skated around the lake and used his staff to spread beautiful designs of ice across the waters.

Suddenly a strange noise filtered the air. Jack snapped his head up, he knew that noise. Leaping upward, Jack took to the air, using his staff as a sort of wind-board.

Blue eyes widened as he saw the northern lights fill the sky, piercing right through the storm-clouds he had created. Jack took off as fast as he could towards the north pole, a feeling of dread filling his stomach.

What could be happening that would have North summoning them so near Christmas? Surely it had to be a desperate crisis.

Coming up upon the great building that sat in the center of the North Pole, Jack zoomed forward, landing lightly on the roof, then slipping in through the window near the entrance. It was amazing to him how easily he got in anymore, when he used to have to face off with the Yeti's before.

"Jack! There you are." North's voice came. Jack looked up at the great man, and was met with unusually serious eyes. "Glad you could make it."

"Yeah- what's going on?" The winter spirit asked, following the giant bringer of Wonder.

"Man in Moon. He called for you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Something is happening Jack, something dark."

"Pitch?" Jack asked nervously, unsure of what to think. Pitch had been dormant for almost five years now, why would he suddenly reappear?

"I do not know. But that is why we are here- to find out."

Jack was never really a nervous person… but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

* * *

**Yay! Next chapter's up! So... the intros are done! Time for things to start happening!**

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

"What do you mean- it's my _time?" _ Jack sighed, looking up with irritation at the Russian. "What time is he talking about? And what does it have to do with me?"

"I can't help but agree with frostbite." Bunnymund said, frowning, nose twitching at the thought. "And I hate saying that."

"I don't know! Man In Moon hasn't told me anything either." North sighed. "I'm just as lost as you are." He pinched the bridge of his nose, breathing deeply.

Jack jumped suddenly as a moonbeam showed itself from the hole in the ceiling. All of the Guardians looked up at the moon, waiting for something to be said. But all watched in fascination as the beam moved slowly to Jack, and finally settled for shining on his face, illuminating his already pale features.

Jack blinked in confusion, but then yelped in surprise as a light flashed in his eyes. Images started flashing through his mind and he saw so much at once, a blonde woman, some sort of flying creature, was that an arrow? Some sort of village- thunderstorms… a flash of red- hair?- yes… A frying pan swinging towards his face one second, then the roar of a- a bear! Yells and cries were heard as the visions passed, and something that looked like fire passed through his vision, and the last thing he heard was a terribly familiar laugh, Pitch's horrible laugh.

The winter spirit gasped as he lurched back to reality. His white head spun with utter fear and confusion, and he panted as if he had just run a mile. The guardian took several steps backward, nearly tripping over a group of elves, but was caught by Sandy and Toothania.

"What did you see, Jack?" Tooth asked, her purple eyes shining with concern. Sandy looked at him with a sanded question mark above his head. Jack shook his head, trying to rid his head of the dizziness and confusion.

"I- I don't know… It… it felt like it was another world… But it wasn't… I saw… It was like going through one of…" He paused, realizing the familiar feeling. "And- I swear Pitch was there! But… It was like passing through one of North's portals… but it took me farther… almost like… a different time!" Jack started to put the meager hints together.

"Time? Like- what- time travel? Have you gone bonkers mate?" Bunny said, looking between Jack and the Moon that shone upon them. "That's impossible… isn't it?"

"Apparently not." North said, a hand stroking his beard thoughtfully. "But- why?" he sighed again. "What do you want Jack to do? What are _we_ supposed to do?" The giant of a man looked at Jack again. "What else did you see? What made you think it was time travel?"

Well huh. Jack didn't know at all. "I- I'm not sure. It just felt… so familiar… like I had seen it before." He groaned, putting his face in his hands and sliding down the wall. He looked up at the others. "I just felt like I knew it was the past… one I had never seen."

"So- this is before you were alive? Even as a human?"

"Probably- or at least in a different place than I was. I- there was just so much! I cant.."

"Calm down jack… take deep breaths." Tooth said, patting his shoulder. "North? Do you have any idea?"

"No- I don't-!" but he was cut off as the moonbeam began to move again. They all watched as it landed on North's pocket. The Guardian reached into his pocket and pulled out one of his famed snowglobes. He frowned and looked up at the moon, who he silently cursed for being so cryptic and silent.

"So… what? You go where with it?" Bunny asked, looking at the globe. "… maybe you should just… throw it?"

North frowned. "But it could lead anywhere! We could end up stuck in a strange dimension for all I know!" he said. "We can't just… jump through!"

"no- I think the Kangaroo's right." Jack said, standing straight again and walking towards the globe with curiosity in his eyes. "If we just throw it… the Moon might just let it lead to where I need to go."

"But Jack- you can't go alone Mate… and we need you to help with the whole… Guardian business!" Bunny said, using his furry paws and arms to express what he was saying.

"Oh come on, you went a good 300 plus years without me. It shouldn't be hard. Besides… as much as I hate to admit it… I don't know how long this will take. I might be gone for months. And IF that's the case, you all need to stay here. Keep the kids believing. If you don't… we're in real trouble."

"What do you say Man in Moon?" North asked, averting his gaze back to the moon above. Jack's shadow was outlined on the ground, and his alone.

"I guess that ends that discussion." Jack frowned.

"But what if you don't-!" Tooth was cut off as Jack took the globe from North. He looked at the three, his deep blue eyes looking at them with more seriousness than he had ever shown in his lifetime as a winter spirit.

"I'll be back. I just gotta believe that." He said. Then a grin blossomed back onto his face, his famous white teeth glittering. "Believe in me, would ya?"

The other three stayed silent, watching as the winter spirit closed his eyes in concentration for a moment, then threw the globe against the wall. A huge portal appeared, and he looked back at his friends. "See you soon." He said.

"Be safe Jack!" Tooth said, small tears pricking at her eyes. She threw her arms around Jack's neck and was soon joined by sandman, who was followed by North.

"oi! Get in here Bunny!" Tooth said, grabbing the Pookah's arm and pulling him into the hug. Jack smiled widely, pulling away from them.

"Be safe Jack." North said, pulling him back, nearly crushing the spirit with his bear hug. Jack laughed, patting his back in return.

"Don't do anything reckless, eh frostbite?" Bunny grumbled, hiding his tinge of worry for the younger guardian as the boy walked toward the portal again.

"Oh please, Reckless is my middle name." Jack said. And with that- he was gone, and the portal disappeared.

* * *

"EUGENE!" Rupunzel called down the hall. She huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "Where could he have gone? I can't find him anywhere!"

"Rapunzel?" A female voice said from behind her. She turned to look and saw her mother- the queen, her real mother- walking gracefully towards her. "What's wrong?"

"I can't find Eugene anywhere." The princess sighed, letting her mother hug her. Since she and her parents had been reunited, her parents had never missed a chance to hug her as much as they could. She figured it was because she had been gone for so long. And honestly, she didn't mind it at all.

"Really? He was looking for you earlier." The Queen said with a kind frown. "I last saw him with your father. I wonder if he's still looking. Let's look together, shall we?" Rapunzel nodded and they started down the hallway of the palace, towards the throne room.

"Mom… was it as stressful when you were getting married?" Rapunzel asked, linking her arm with her mothers.

"Of course it was. Marriage isn't really supposed to be an easy experience though, dear."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… how my mother put it… was that if you aren't willing to go through such an event- that is indeed stressful and puts strain on the both of you- how are you supposed to be able to go through life together? It's only a small part of your relationship- but an important one. One that seals you together forever. So it can't be easy, nor should it be."

Rapunzel thought about her words as they walked. Her mother was right of course. Eugene and she had been through a lot together already, but if they weren't able to make it through the stress of a wedding, who knew what disasters could happen in the future between them!?

But the thought put a smile on her lips. Eugene had been nothing but loving and thoughtful throughout the entire thing. Always supporting her and helping plan it in whatever way he could. She knew he loved her, and that put butterflies in her stomach. Happy butterflies. That same sort of feeling she had when she had put her feet to the grassy ground for the first time those years ago.

Wow, five years. Why had it taken so long for the two of them to get married anyway? Well, between learning about and doing her kingdomly duties, and Eugene learning how to do the same, they had a lot of learning to do. and at 23 years of age (25 for Eugene) they finally decided to tie the knot.

Approaching the throne room, both women stopped as a loud crash erupted from the other side of the great doors. They heard the shouts and hollers of guards charging and fighting something. Rapunzel looked at her mother, and pushed her back a bit. Grasping a frying pan, that was left by the door by someone, probably one of the cooks who had fled the scene, she slammed the doors open.

Her eyes fell upon Eugene, who was valiantly fighting a tall, shadowy man. He wore flowing black, that seemed to sparkle with some sort of… malice. He wore a hood, hiding his face, but for his eyes. Yellow eyes met perfect brown as a giant scythe met a silver blade in battle. Clangs resounded, and Rapunzel finally noticed that Maximus, the guards and – to her dismay- her father were fighting what looked like… horses? No… they weren't quite so. Their thin bodies seemed to be made of saggy hide and bone, their manes billowing in a wind that wasn't there, and their eyes glowing with an evil yellow glint.

Suddenly Eugene cried out- and drew Rapunzel's eyes again. She cried out as the scythe grazed his side, leaving a gash behind in its wake. Rapunzel rushed forward, knocking aside any of the terrible mares that got in her way with her frying pan.

"EUGENE!" She shouted, jumping in front of him as the terrible, fearsome man began to bring down his scythe upon her beloved fiancée. She blocked the blow with a skilled swing of the cooking pan, a loud CLANG resounding around them.

"Rapunzel…" Eugene said warily, holding his side. The wound wasn't deep, but it hurt. He would have to get it bandaged when he could.

"Who are you?!" The princess demanded, glaring into the yellow eyes of the cloaked man. She couldn't see any of the features on him, for the black hood shadowed them, but his terrible eyes glowed, enough for her to fear him. The man said nothing, but his cloak began to swirl around him, causing his eyes to narrow, and then the hood fell off.

"You!" Rapunzel backed away in fear, her eyes almost tearing up. "No! But you're- you're dead! You fell out of the tower! You turned to dust!"

"That's what you think dear." The black haired witch cackled, the familiar chill passing down Eugene and Rapunzel's spines. Her young face glowed with power, and her red lips split into a terrifying fox-grin. Her black curls bounced as she brushed them out of her face, and the scythe in her hand rested against her shoulder, as if she were the bringer of death. "But you- what can you do? Your precious hair… was cut off. You're useless now. Because of him."

"That's not true." Eugene said firmly from behind Rapunzel, putting his hand on her shoulder. "And you were defeated. So how are you here?"

Gothel's eyes narrowed at the couple, and she flicked her wrist back, bringing the scythe behind her head and beginning to bring it down upon them. But she suddenly froze as something hit her. Right in the face.

Rapunzel and Eugene had to hold in their laughter as the snow dripped down the woman's face. Both turned their heads to see… nothing? Nothing was there! But how…?

"Jack Frost!" Gothel screeched. She raised her Scythe again, but was no longer aiming for either of the future rulers of the kingdom. In fact- it seemed she was aiming for…. Thin air. Eugene and Rapunzel looked at each other confusedly, but dodged as the scythe was aimed mindlessly around them. "How? How can you be here!? I was free of you-!" But she was silenced again as another snowball hit her in the face. What on earth?

_You have to believe I'm here. _ A voice suddenly seemed to accompany the wind that had come out of nowhere. Rapunzel and Eugene looked at each other again, as if to confirm that they had just both heard it. Then they closed their eyes.

"We believe you're there- but we still can't see you!" Rapunzel said, opening her eyes again. She looked around, and nearly jumped out of her skin as she suddenly saw a boy with white hair seem to materialize from nowhere. She looked at Eugene, who's eyes were still closed in concentration. She tugged on his sleeve, and he opened them, mouth falling open.

"'Bout time you saw me!" The boy said, dodging another attack. He seemed to almost… _fly_ as he jumped up out of the way. He swung is staff- a strange sort of thing with a sort of hook on the end. Rapunzel and Eugene jumped as some sort of shining blue light shot from it, freezing the bottom part of Gothel's robe. "You can't be afraid! Or he'll get to you! Don't be afraid!"

"But that- wait… he?" Eugene looked to Gothel again, whose face was screwed up with fury. He frowned. "She's not real."

"What? But-!" Rapunzel looked at her past mother figure. She squinted, trying to focus. Then she realized. She couldn't be real. Gothel had died. She was gone! She had failed!

Gothel screeched in pain as the shining blue hit her again, her strange cloak swirling about as she suddenly seemed to melt into the shadows. The white haired boy nodded, then he turned, using his staff, he froze every single one of the horrid mares that the guards were fighting. The queen and King both yelped as a terribly cold breeze passed in front and behind them, then saw every mare collapse into an ashy pile of ice and sand.

Silence filled the room for a moment. The Queen leaned heavily against the doorway, feeling a wave of disbelief wash over her from the events she had just witnessed. The King rushed quickly to her side as fast as his aging body would let him.

The Guards began to tidy up instantly, like they were trained to do, and Maximus trotted over to Eugene and Rapunzel. He poked Eugene's side gently with his nose and snorted in question. Rapunzel quickly started to fret over her fiancée's wound, tearing a part of her skirt off and tying it about his side until they could get him to the infirmary.

"Rapunzel… I'm fine…" Eugene tried to assure her, but stopped himself as the white haired boy walked towards them. It was then that he and Rapunzel were able to take in his appearance.

He wasn't much younger than they were, maybe eighteen or nineteen years old. His blue tunic- of the likes that neither of them had ever seen- was lined with frost, as if he had been in a winter storm for many long hours and had yet to get warm. His eyes were just as cold looking and his pants were slightly too short, held together with cord that tied about his calves. His feet were bare, and his skin was paler than either of the couple had ever seen anyone that was of good health. It reminded Rapunzel horribly of when she had nearly lost Eugene to Gothel's trickery.

"Who are you?" Rapunzel asked, standing slightly, helping her fiancée to do the same by grasping his arm.

"I'm Jack Frost. Guardian." The boy said, in a voice slightly deeper than the two had expected, even if they had heard him earlier. HE held out his hand to the two, who both shook it in turn. Both were shocked to find that his skin was icy to the touch. "And you are…?"

"You mean to say you came into THE PALACE, saved us and didn't know who we were?" Eugene asked in disbelief. Jack shrugged as an affirmative.

"Look- I don't know why I'm here either. I was sent here by the Moon- so I'm just as lost as you."

The couple stared at him in disbelief.

"I- I'm Rapunzel, and this is Eugene… my fiancée." The lost princess said, indicating towards herself and Eugene. "The two over there are my parents." She said, indicating towards the King and Queen who were on the other side of the room still, recovering from their shock."

"Nice to meet you." He said.

"Why are you here? I mean- how did you even get in here?" Eugene asked. "There are guards everywhere…"

"Oh- well… um. I flew in when I heard the commotion." Jack said. "Sorry I didn't knock… but I kind of just barged in to um… save you."

"It's… not a problem." Eugene said, trying to wrap his head around what he had said. So the kid had… flown in. _Flown. In. _ what on earth was going on here?!

"Wait- did he get you?" Jack asked, looking at Eugene's side, where blood had bloomed onto the fabric of his tunic.

"Yeah, but it's not so deep." Eugene said, assuring his friend.

"Oh this is not good. Not good at all." Jack's eyes were wide. Worry exploding in his vision. Rapunzel felt fear overtake her.

"Why? What's wrong-!"

Eugene's eyes suddenly went wide as saucers, blackness overtaking his vision. Images. Horrible images filled his mind and plagued his thoughts, terrible, fear, screams…

Eugene screamed in fear and started to spasm wildly, unable to stand properly. He put his hands to the side of his head and held them there, trying to block out the horrible sounds and images. But to no avail.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel cried, trying to hold him up as he fell, but only managing to lower him slowly. She lowered herself to her knees and held her beloved's head in her hands and lap. "What's wrong with him? Why did he suddenly just start to freak out?!" She asked. "Jack- you know! What-!" The King and Queen had rushed over by then, and the guards were shouting orders to get the future king to the infirmary.

"He's being taken over by fear. The only way to stop it… is to stop pitch."

"Pitch? Who's- is he the one we were fighting?" Rapunzel asked, looking at the winter spirit as Eugene was carried off, the two of them following closely, and her parents behind them.

"Yes- Pitch Black. The Boogeyman." Jack said. He looked at Rapunzel. Something was familiar about her…

"Tell me… did you used to have blonde hair?"

* * *

**Tell me what you think! PLEASE~!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Okay- lemme just straighten a few things out."

"Go On." Jack sighed, leaning against the large window of the infirmary. The three had been in there for almost two hours, in which each exchanged each other's stories. Jack had immediately been able to understand and believe the princess's story. But … she on the other hand…

"You're- a Guardian." Rapunzel said, pointing at him.

"Yup." Jack nodded.

"Of _fun?_"

"That would be me." Jack nodded.

"And what is wrong with Eugene?" She asked slowly, running her hand through the said man's brown locks, brushing them from his clammy forehead.

"Pitch is the king of Nightmares. To put it simply, Eugene is currently trapped in a living hell of his own mind's creation. The only way to get him out is to defeat Pitch- who is off doing who knows what, who knows where with who knows who at who knows when." Jack slumped.

"So… what can I do?" Rapunzel looked directly into Jack's eyes, pleading… no. Demanding that he give an answer.

"I honestly don't know. You said you lost your powers when your hair got cut. So basically, I can freeze stuff and you can hit things with a frying pan all you want, but it won't change anything if we don't have a plan." Jack explained, pushing himself away from the window.

"Darling, are you alright?" A voice said from the door. Both looked up to see the Queen standing there, her face and eyes reflecting the worry that filled her. Rapunzel smiled and nodded.

"I'm fine mother, just tired."

"Make sure you get some rest then. Heaven knows we all need it."

"Of course." With that, the queen left, leaving the Guardian and the Princess alone.

"She seems nice." Jack said fondly. Rapunzel nodded.

"I have another question though- why does she not seem to notice you- like- at all?" She asked. Jack frowned.

"Well- like I said earlier, you have to believe in me to see me. Remember- you couldn't see me at first either."

"True. But why was I able to believe? And not my parents?"

"I don't know." Jack shrugged. "There are many mysteries around today though- and that isn't one I'm very concerned about." He sighed, settling onto the windowsill again. "Why would Pitch attack you? I mean- your powers are gone, right?" He thought aloud, standing again and walking aimlessly around the room. "So why would you be valuable to him? What could he possibly-" Jack stopped, glancing back at Rapunzel. She flinched slightly under his searching stare, unsure of what could be going through the guardian's head. "But wait." He said, stepping closer. "Did you really lose your powers? All of them?"

"Well- I healed Eugene once… when I cried I think. But it's never happened again. I've tried." She explained.

"But you still healed him. Hmm… What if your power isn't really gone? It's just locked away… ugh. I wish we could talk to Manny about this." He sighed for the thousandth time that night. "He might be able to help. How long do you think it'll be before night here?" He asked. The constant presence of the moon was no longer an asset he could rely on like he could back in the North Pole. And as much as he would love to, Jack wasn't familiar with the world of the past. He wasn't sure if he could make it all the way North without getting lost. And that could leave an opening for pitch to get through to Rapunzel for whatever reason he had targeted her.

"Another couple hours I would guess. But it's been getting really stormy around here lately, especially at night. Will you be able to see the moon that way- however that works." Rapunzel sighed. She wasn't sure what was crazier, how her day had turned out, or the fact that this kid- who looked no older than she was when she was living in the tower- was supposed to be a guardian of fun or spirit of winter or whatever he had said. Talking to the moon… what?

"I should be able to. But actually…" he said, hopping up onto a rafter and looking out of the higher windows. Rapunzel blinked, registering how high the boy had really just jumped. Back when she had possessed long hair, she easily could have joined him up there, but now that it had been cut…

"I'm wondering if I should take you with me." Rapunzel was pulled from her thoughts as Jack continued his out loud. "I mean- If there is a storm, it'll be dangerous. But I feel like the moon would want to talk to you… or whatever."

"You're saying… the moon talks?"

"Yeah- you just have to pay attention." He said, rubbing his forehead with frustration. There was too much to do, too little time to do it in and a lot more to even just think about. And he didn't know where to start.

"Will it help Eugene?" Rapunzel asked firmly. Jack looked at her. Her face was set in determination and a hint of worry. She wasn't going to give up, Jack could tell. He nodded, looking at the man in the bed. His skin was clammy and pale, while his breath escaped him in short, shallow gasps.

"Then I'm going with you." She said. Jack opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. "Don't tell me I can't or shouldn't, because I will no matter what. No amount of trying to tell me otherwise will work because Eugene needs me-"

Jack put his staff to her lips to shut her up. He had a smile on his lips again, and a mischievous glint in his bright blue eyes.

"I wasn't going to tell you to stay behind. I was going to tell you to go dress warmly. We're going for a trip."

After explaining that she needed to go somewhere to get something to help Eugene, the princess left with Jack Frost.

"This is amazing!" Rapunzel shouted over the roaring wind in her ears. Jack laughed and nodded, doing a rather unnecessary backflip, causing the princess to cling to his back even harder, crushing his thin frame. But he hardly noticed, besides, he was a lot stronger than he looked.

"Which spire is the tallest on your castle?" Jack called back. Rapunzel frowned, then pointed up.

"There! That middle one there is the tallest."

"Alright." Jack nodded, then launched upward at it, landing and spinning slightly on the spire's top, bare feet sliding and finding their holds quickly, so he didn't drop Rapunzel. He peered upward, looking to see a pathway through the clouds so that they could make it through before it started to rain. Of course, the cold wouldn't have bothered Jack in the slightest, but once again, Rapunzel was another matter. She was wrapped in a cloak and wore her favorite purple and pink dress modified with long sleeves to keep warm on the trip.

"Hold on tight." Jack told her. She nodded, and tightened her grip around his neck and midsection (if that were possible!) and tucked her head closer to Jack and into the hood of her cloak. Jack nodded in satisfaction, and leaped off of the roof. The wind instantly caught him and they whooshed upward, straight through the pathway Jack had marked with his sharp eye. The clouds were low enough that Rapunzel should be fine on air. But Jack would keep an eye on her, because he had a lesser need for air. Small drops of moisture gathered in both of their hair, but Rapunzel tugged her hood on tighter, to keep her hair as dry as she could.

A sudden gust of wind sent Jack flying sideways. Rapunzel squeaked as Jack tried to pilot back on course. He could see the moonlight just coming through the clouds. Using his staff, he tried to avert the cloud's water from Rapunzel and ended up instead shielding her with himself. Blinking the water out of his eyes, he grinned as they burst through, and the moon shone brightly and proudly on them. A sense of peace washed over Jack as the light hit him, and he knew he was doing something right. Not sure what it was, but he sensed the princess riding on his back was something to do with it.

But that sense was suddenly ripped from his chest. Another gust of wind tore through the air, sending Jack spiraling back into the clouds. Jack tried to redirect them and get them back above the clouds again, but the wind refused to obey his will. A panic filled him as Rapunzel screamed in fright, thinking that they were falling. But Jack kept them well in the air, determined not to let anything happen to the girl on his back. But it was getting increasingly difficult with whatever it was that was blocking his vision.

"Hey Princess, would you get your hair under control?! I can't see!" Jack said, the small amount of panic still eating at him like a little monster in his stomach. The long blonde hair whipping around in his vision was definitely not helping at all.

Wait.

Blonde?

"Holy- your hair!" Jack shouted, still trying to concentrate on keeping them airborne. "It's grown back!"

There was no response.

"Princess! Rapunzel! Hey- oh great." He groaned. Glancing up at where he knew the moon was, he glared. "Thanks. I'm grateful for your growing her hair back, but this is just what I need, an unconscious princess riding on my back." Grumbling, he went back to keeping he and the unconscious girl airbourne. With much effort, he steered towards where he saw clear sky.

Stars had never shined brighter before as Jack burst from out of the clouds. He was unreservedly soaked through and even though the wind was whipping strongly, he knew Rapunzel's hair was soaked as well. Mostly because it had seemed that she had gained about ten pounds from the combination of water and hair.

How she had grown it all back, he didn't know. How it had gotten blonde again he would never guess. But Jack didn't care. If the moon had done it, then there was a perfectly good reason for it to be done. However, it didn't mean it was going to get easy by any means. The wet hair whipped about and wrapped around Jack's thin limbs and his staff, making it harder to steer.

"I had better land I- what?" Jack gasped, realizing that he was no longer over the palace, or even the Kingdom. He was now over an ocean, and not just off of some coast, he was above the smack dab middle of nothing. He couldn't see anything for miles, but the tossing waves and splashing waters below. His blue eyes flashed with a mixture of fear and confusion. How had he gone so far off course? Was there anything nearby that he could land on?! And- what was that noise?

Jack's head whipped back and forth as he flew, looking about for whatever the strange noise was. Shouting? Were there ships out here?

That thought was cut short as something crashed into him.

* * *

Hiccup shouted to the other dragon riders as they flew over the stormy waters. They had been sent out to find a fishing boat that had gone missing. Of course by sent out, he meant that he had flown off against his father's word. He hadn't wanted him flying out in such weather, and he and Gobber had told him a storm of untold magnitude was coming in.

Hiccup knew he had flown in worse weather, but he didn't want to take more chances than he needed, which was why they were trying to find the boat as fast as they possibly could. Gobber had said they had an hour tops to find it before the storm kicked in fully.

"Come on bud, we've only got about another half hour, then we've gotta get home." He said, leaning forward to talk to his dragon, who snorted in response and gave a slight nod. He lifted his wings and shot forward, faster than all of the other dragons and their riders. Using the gear, Hiccup steered with him and they soared, speeding like a bullet in the direction that the boat was supposed to be in. All was going well-

WHUMP.

"Odin! What was that!?" Hiccup cried, as he and Toothless spun out of control. Hiccup looked about and instantly saw the flash of blonde hair that whizzed towards the water below. Toothless dove down swiftly and caught the cloaked girl with his scaly arms, and then instantly pulled back up, just in time to miss the water.

But there was still a splash?

Hiccup watched the water, and it rippled unmistakably beneath he and Toothless. But the girl was safely in his claws, so what could have fallen in?

"Did we drop something?" Hiccup wondered aloud. Toothless shook his head, and continued to pull up. They joined up with the other riders and soared through the skies.

"Who is that?!" Astrid called to him over the rushing winds. She and Stormfly struggled against the winds along with the others, but both kept the eye out for the ship.

"I don't know! She- uh- I think it's a she… fell from… the sky."

"I see the ship!" Ruffnut called, pointing towards a boat that was being tossed relentlessly upon the waters. The sails were torn and the mast was damaged along the middle. The riders nodded at each other and flew quickly towards the battling ship.

"Grab the ropes! We can pull them back home! Let me drop her off on the ship and I'll come back to help!"

"Got it!" Astrid called.

"Leave it to us!" Snotlout called. "Heck, we could do it ourselves!" His dragon, Hookfang, whipped his head with irritation and snorted a bit of fire from his nose. But nonetheless flew down and grasped some rope in his jaws, and began to tug. Stormfly, Barf and Belch all did the same and began to pull the boat back to Berk, faster than it ever could have sailed on its own. Hiccup, satisfied with the work, steered Toothless back onto the boat. After putting the girl down on the deck, they landed and Hiccup quickly dismounted. The friends quickly rushed to the girl's side and moved the hood off.

A round, slightly tanned face was revealed. Pink lips were slightly parted in lack of expression, and long lashes touched flushed cheeks with absence of consciousness. The Viking boy leaned down and listened, checking for breath, and was relieved to hear the steady intake and output of air from her lungs. She was just asleep. Maybe a bump on the head, but unharmed for the most part.

But what got him was the hair. Holy dragons, that was a lot of hair. What- it was about the length of a monstrous nightmares wingspan…. An average of seventy feet right? Who the heck would grow their hair that long? Not even the Vikings did that, and they were the hairiest set of people Hiccup swore he had ever seen. Not that he'd really seen many other people.

"Hey- keep an eye on her, I'll go help get us to shore… if she wakes up, call me." Hiccup told the sailors, who nodded and went to work clearing debris and the torn sails off of the deck, using them as blankets for the girl and supporting her head.

Hiccup and Toothless quickly went airbourne and set to work helping the other dragons. The work was doubled easily and they arrived back in Berk within the half hour they had been counting down from previously.

The Vikings abandoned the ship just in time to be drenched with rain, Toothless carried the girl with them (Hiccup holding her hair up from his saddle) and they all ran to their respective homes, hoping the storm wouldn't be bad enough to evacuate them to the great hall. Bidding the other riders farewell, Hiccup and Toothless took the girl quickly inside the chief's hut.

"Son! You made it alive!" Stoick cried happily, throwing his arms around his son, who by this time had grown much taller since the fight with the Green death. But he still felt small around his father and the other Vikings. But he supposed he would never be quite as hefty as the others, no matter how many years went by. Which he didn't particularly mind.

"Yeah- Dad. I'm good. Great even." He said awkwardly, still unused to such attention from his father. How many years had it been? Five? Five years… and he still wasn't used to it.

His father put him down, unsure of why his son was stuttering. Then he noticed the girl resting on Toothless' back. "Who is this? Where did she come from?"

"Uhhhh- that is a good question, but- I don't know… she kind of… well… fell from the sky. Because that's normal and all… so Toothless caught her."

"Was she riding a dragon?"

"No… she just… fell. I don't know how she got up in the sky, above the middle of the ocean. But I couldn't just leave her there! Especially since it was in the middle of the ocean. That- that would be bad." Hiccup explained. Stoick nodded.

"That is true, but what is with the hair?"

"That- is also a very good question." Hiccup sighed.

"We could cut it for her…"

"Yeah- but if it's this long there has to be a reason… right? It wouldn't make sense if there wasn't. And weird. Very weird."

Suddenly the door flew open. Lightning flashed as the silhouette of a cloaked man stood there. Black hair stuck to his face like a curtain, and his skin was grey as the dead. He lunged forward, tackling Hiccup to the ground, and the said boy yelped in surprise, trying to wrestle back against the man. His eyes glowed golden as he lifted a black knife and started to swing it down on Hiccup. Stoick yelled, and was instantly blasted back into Toothless, who had also leaped forward in full intent to help. Hiccup closed his eyes, waiting for the pain.

However, the small Viking froze- quite literally- as a freezing cold wind blasted through the front room. Frost coated Stoick's beard and clothing, it coated Toothless all over and laced itself in Hiccup's hair. Toothless and Stoick shouted and roared in surprise as it blew about, ice chunks hitting bits of wood and knocking items off of the walls.

Hiccup looked to see another silhouette in the doorway, but the features of this man were very different. A strange blue tunic of sorts that seemed to be frosted over with ice or something of the like, and hair as white as snow covering his head, but slicked down as well with the wet weather outside. His hands held a strange staff, and his eyes sparked something malicious as he pointed the staff towards the shadowy man.

A strange light filled the room, knocking the figure off of Hiccup and to the floor just above the Viking's head. The man above Hiccup screeched in pain, standing up and suddenly transforming into- a Nightfury?! He looked exactly like toothless, all the way down to the missing tail fin, but his eyes were wrong. Golden-silver instead of the lovely green. The fake Nightfury opened its mouth and let out a strange sort of imitation of fire, but it seemed to be made of black sand, and it went straight towards the boy.

That light sparked again, blocking the strange sand, and making it dissipate around them. The intruder transformed back into the cloaked man, and disappeared into the shadows.

Silence filled the house as Hiccup looked at the white haired boy in the doorway. Both met eyes for a moment, and Hiccup then noticed that there were tired lines under the man's eyes, and he was short of breath, and then the stranger spoke.

"Is she okay" He asked. Hiccup nodded slowly. A look of relief filled the man's face, making him look even more tired. "Oh good." And then he fell forward, eyes fluttering shut. Toothless rushed forward and barely caught the man, softening his landing.

Hiccup looked around for a moment. His father panicking and checking his son over for injuries, the insane amount of blonde hair winding around the room from the wind that had blasted about, leading to the girl who had been deposited onto Stoick's large chair, and the unconscious white-haired man who had just saved his life, resting upon his dragon's back.

"Oh man…"

* * *

**Hi guys! Sorry for the long wait! I finally got to go home for a week so I've been busy, busy, busy! **

**So... tell me what you think! Thanks for reading! I'll try to get the next part out by next week if I can. :D **

**See you later!**


	5. Chapter 5

_"If I knew, I would have told you." _The voices in her head were getting ridiculous. Rapunzel squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could, trying to block out the noise. Of course, it was to no avail. It only made sense. Eyes did in no way affect the ears. At least not as far as the princess knew.

_"Well one of them need to wake up soon. We need to know what is going on and who that shadow man was. I don't like where this is going son, and I would prefer it ended before it got there." _ This voice was a lot deeper than the first. And definitely older, it sort of reminded her of her own father, only a bit gruffer and older. Maybe that's what her father would sound like in years to come.

Then it all came rushing back to her. She remembered, flying with the mysterious guardian of fun, and then… nothing. A slight headache and then she had blacked out. Poor Jack had probably had to carry her around for however long had passed! He must've been exhausted, and then probably had stopped somewhere at his own expense to let her rest.

_"Wait… the boy doesn't have a pulse I don't think…!" _The older voice said.

Green eyes snapped open and Rapunzel gasped and sat up, causing her head to collide with something right above her.

"Agh!" her's and another's voice cried at the same time, both persons putting a hand to their forehead where it had collided with the opposite owner.

"She's awake!" The gruff, older voice said, coming closer to the two bruised kids in by the bed. Rapunzel finally looked up and examined her surroundings, forgetting for a moment why she had panicked in the first place.

"Yeah- I noticed." The other boy groaned.

She was in a bed, if you could really call it that- made of pure wood and a thin layer of what felt like fur of some sort. The boy beside the bed looked just as simple, all but the strange leg he had on his right side. It was made of wood and metal, with some sort of spring load and bent peg. Another man stood, at least six feet and seven inches tall. A giant red beard covered his face and a helmet with strange horns rested on top of his head. The giant of a man was on the other side of the room next to another bed that had a poor winter spirit laying on it, unmoving and looking ultimately dead.

Rapunzel jumped up and out of the creaky bed and rushed to Jack Frost's side. She ran her fingers along his jaw and felt for the tell-tale signs of life. But there was nothing there. Nothing but skin that was cold to the touch and lifeless as stone.

"Woah, woah, woah, calm down, we're trying to figure this out-!" But Hiccup was interrupted as the white-haired boy suddenly gasped and sat up, much like Rapunzel had done, but the girl was quick to jump back and avoid another bash to the head.

"Jack! You're alive!" Rapunzel threw her arms around the guardian's neck and squeezing him tightly, nearly knocking the both of them off of the bed, but Jack held firm. "You didn't have a heartbeat! And you weren't breathing!" She pulled back away from him and looked into his face. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah- I think so…" Jack looked at the other two in the room. Hiccup and Stoick looked at each other with confusion. The boy hadn't gained back any colour in his cheeks, and still looked like he had no idea where he was. But he had rushed in and saved them in the front room…

"Do you have my staff?" Jack asked suddenly.

"Uh- yeah, you dropped it in the doorway when you attacked that shadow guy." Hiccup said.

"I'll go get it." Stoick said quickly, scooting awkwardly out of the room to retrieve the shepherd's staff they had left in the front room. Hiccup nodded, understanding that his father wanted him to figure out what was going on.

As soon as the Chief was gone, Hiccup strode over to the other two, artificial foot creaking under his weight with each step.

"Sooo… how did you guys end up in Berk?" Hiccup asked, sitting gingerly on the edge of the creaky bed. Jack- if he had heard the name right- blinked once, looked at the blonde girl and frowned.

"That- is questionable. One minute I'm flying, next I'm over the ocean, no idea where I am, and then something hit me. Hard. I was knocked right out of the sky… landed in the water I think. When I woke up, I was on a patch of ice floating near the shore of here and so I flew over. I heard the fight happening and came to help. That's… about all I remember." Jack sighed, leaning back against the back headboard of the bed. Rapunzel's lips fell into a deep frown.

"Then how did I end up here? I don't remember anything from when we got through the clouds."

"Ummm, Princess… did you even notice your hair?" Jack asked.

Rapunzel froze, and her hand slowly lifted to the side of her head. She looked up with her green eyes, and finally took notice of the long, blonde, strands of hair that were curtaining off of her head.

"Ummm, do you need a haircut?" Hiccup asked, but was cut off by two loud "NO!"s. He jumped a little. "Oh- okay. Well no need to be touchy about it. I'll go get you something to tie it back with. "Hiccup said. "But first, we need to figure out how to get you home, or wherever you need to go." He said, sitting down so his sore leg could rest. He had been standing for almost five hours straight. The two visitors had really messed up his whole "Go home and get some rest" idea. Toothless had gone away only about an hour ago to go fish for food because they had to cancel the fishing trip for the dragons because of the storm.

Hiccup was torn from his thoughts as a familiar roar came from the rafters above. Stoick had just come back with the staff, but it was instantly ripped from his large hands by its owner, who was pointing it in every which way direction he could. Rapunzel was hiding slightly behind him, for she had no weapon with her, but she held a thick section of her blonde hair in her hand, ready to attack with it if necessary. Stoick looked at his son, a look of exasperation on his face, and turned and left immediately, leaving his son to deal with the two.

"Oi- it's alright, calm down, that's normal." Hiccup said, walking to the window, which was shut to keep the rain out of his room.

"What?" Both visitors said, straightening up a bit from their defensive stances.

"Really- here…" Hiccup opened the window and as he expected, Toothless flew in, dripping water in puddles in front of the window. Hiccup slammed it shut and turned around to face the others.

To his surprise and slight worry, Jack and Toothless were staring at each other eye-to-eye. Both looked like they were ready to attack, Jack's fist was closed tightly around his staff, while Toothless' teeth were out and bared.

"Woah! Hey- calm down! Toothless, this is a friend! He saved us- remember?" Toothless looked back at his rider, face falling from its malice and back to its normal, almost cat-like state. He leaned back so that he was sitting on his hind, and his front legs supported his upper body. Jack lowered his staff, then noticing the saddle on the back of the black dragon.

"You- have a dragon. A pet dragon." Rapunzel said, breaking the silence first. Hiccup nodded.

"Um- yeah. This is Toothless."

"He is not Toothless, he was just-" Jack started, but Hiccup broke him off quickly, before someone else could point out the flaws to the name.

"They retract. So most of the time he's toothless. Hence the name." Hiccup sighed. How many times he had been required to explain that in the past was innumerable. "A-anyway. You said you were flying when you hit something. I thought that meant that maybe there was an off chance that you were a rider too… but I now assume I'm wrong?"

"Yeah…" Jack said, still not taking his eyes off of the dragon. "No- I just fly. On my own."

"Okay." Hiccup said, trying to digest this bit of information. But that was easier said than done. "Anything else I need to know?" He asked. "Can you- I don't know- why can you fly?" He finally sighed, sitting again, but with Toothless by his side this time. He put his hand calmingly on his head. Then he shook his head. "Okay- how about this. What are your names? Let's start there. My name's Hiccup. This is Toothless." He said again.

"Hiccup?" Jack almost snickered. He hadn't heard a strange name like that before. Except maybe in the pirate days just a bit after he became a winter spirit. "Alright- I'm Jack Frost, and this is Rapunzel." The winter spirit said, indicating towards themselves. "What- who are you? I mean, how do you have a pet dragon? Where are we?"

"Um, okay. I'm a Viking. This is Berk."

"Okay…" So they were in the Viking time era- what was that? Somewhere between 800 and 1050 AD. Good. We were at a start here. But why would Pitch be all of the way back in this time period? And what did this boy have anything to do with it?

"And what are you exactly?" Hiccup asked, folding his arms. Jack frowned at the question. "I mean- you come into my house, do something- shiny I guess- the shadow guy leaves and then you pass out. You don't have a pulse and you are freezing cold to the touch. I'm no healer, but that usually means you're dead. Who are you?"

Rapunzel stared at Jack. She hadn't realized, but Hiccup was right. Even if Jack was a winter spirit or whatever, he would still need a pulse to be alive. To be breathing. Was he even breathing?

Jack gave a hard stare for a moment, then sat down. "I'm Jack Frost, bringer of winter and fun. I create snow and control the wind. I freeze roads, and I fly. My job is to protect children and bring as much fun as I can into their lives. That's who I am."

Hiccup once again struggled to wrap his mind around everything this guy was saying. Bringer of winter…. Fly… protect kids? Either this guy was who he said he was, or he was crazier than Ruffnut and Tuffnut after a long night of mead and partying. That was saying something.

"Okay… Forgive me if I don't quite understand right away. But I'll believe you for now." Hiccup said slowly. "And you?" He asked the blonde girl. Rapunzel looked at him and smiled.

"I'm Rapunzel!"

"She's the princess of some kingdom." Jack interrupted. "But I have to know, how did she get here?"

"I caught her whenever she fell. Toothless and I brought her home." Hiccup said. Jack nodded.

"Thank you."

"SON!" Stoick's voice boomed through the house. Hiccup jumped up and ran out of the room to go help his father with whatever was needed. Jack and Rapunzel followed after closely. They all found Stoick at the bottom of the stairs soaked to the bone and missing his helmet.

"The storm is getting worse! We need to go to the great hall for shelter- it's taking out houses every minute now!"

Hiccup nodded, then turned to look at the two others. "We need to get out of here." He said. Both nodded. "Toothless! Take these two to the great hall! Come back for me, I'm going to help get some people out." The dragon nodded, and turned his body so that the visitors could get on. Rapunzel did so immediately, but Jack shook his head.

"I'll go by myself. I'll help Hiccup." He said. The dragon didn't seem to really care and took off out the window, the streak of blonde hair following.

"Is that all of them?!" Hiccup called up to Jack who was- still to his slight unbelief- flying above them, spotting for any wandering villagers that had been caught out in the storm.

"There's another one off to the south- a kid!" Jack called. "Oh- you're dragon got it." He called. "That's it."

"Okay! We need to head to that really big building at the top of that hill!" Hiccup shouted back, "And fast! We'll freeze to death!"

"You will!"

"Okay- either way, we need to get to shelter!" Hiccup sighed, running towards the said destination. Jack followed closely behind, while Toothless ran towards his rider with as much speed as his body held. Hiccup jumped on his back and cheered as they flew towards the great hall.

The giant doors slammed shut as the last of the Vikings and then Jack and Hiccup came inside. The pounding of the rain outside sounded like drums and the darkness of the room made it all the more haunting to Jack and Rapunzel, who had joined them as soon as they had entered.

"Are you cold?" A girl asked Rapunzel, who looked up to see a girl with stringy blonde hair. She was thin, and wore a green and blue striped shirt with a leather belt that had more strips of leather that hung down to her knees. She was also holding out a fur blanket to the princess. Rapunzel nodded and accepted the offer and pulled it over her shoulders and arms. The girl sat next to her, avoiding sitting on the insanely long hair that was piled unceremoniously next to her.

"So… what's your name?" the girl asked. Rapunzel looked up at her.

"Rapunzel." She smiled. "What's yours?"

"I'm Astrid." She said. She seemed to hesitate for a moment before asking. "I know it's probably none of my business… But why are you here? How did you end up in the sky like that?" Rapunzel thought for a moment.

"I don't really know… I was sort of brought here by fate." She sighed, looking over at Jack and Hiccup who were talking about something off to the side with Hiccup's father and another larger man with blonde hair that Rapunzel swore she had heard called Gobber. "So… who are they over there? The other dragon… riders I guess."

"Oh- um, that over there is Snotlout, watch out for him. Then there's Ruffnut and Tuffnut, the twins…"

"And if we could just re-enforce the rooftop with more wood it should hold stronger for a longer time an-!" Hiccup was cut off as a huge bang resounded around the entire hall. The doors were thrown open, inviting a barrage of rain and hail through inside.

Hiccup gasped as he saw the shadowy man standing in the doorway again, this time wielding a large scythe looking weapon. Toothless and Jack jumped at the ready instantly, and Hiccup almost mused at how much alike the dragon and the boy were, and he would have more if he hadn't had another problem on his mind. He felt a sort of fear go through him as he locked eyes with the shadowy man. Those eyes were full of hatred and… something else that filled him with that fear that he struggled to understand.

Of course, it could be that he had already been attacked by this man. Or thing. Or whatever it was. He wasn't sure of anything anymore now that he had met Jack and Rapunzel, nothing seemed real anymore.

Jack jumped in front of Hiccup, blocking him from the view of the other figure in the doorway. He glared at him and raised his staff.

The strange, black attack flew at Jack again as the man raised his scythe. Jack let loose an attack of blue light and ice again, and Hiccup raised his arms to block the cold from his face. The man in the doorway's attack met Jack's midway and they fought back and forth for the winning strike. Flashes of blue and shadows of black clashed about the room, trying vainly to take each other out.

"Hiccup- how are you doing that?!" Astrid cried from behind the said Viking, holding up an axe in case one of the attacking colours flew her way. Hiccup looked back at her confusedly, not knowing what she meant.

"Doing what?"

"That blue stuff! It's so cold-!" Both broke off the conversation as that very light flashed in front of them, blocking an attack from the shadowy sand stuff. Hiccup jumped backwards, nearly falling from imbalance on his right foot, but was caught by Toothless, who indicated for him to get on his back. Hiccup nodded and jumped on, preparing to aide jack in his battle.

"She can't see Jack." He then realized as Astrid looked right through the white haired spirit who had landed right in front of her. "She can't see him! No one can!"

"Astrid! How many guests do we have in the village right now?" He asked. She gave him a look of confusion before answering.

"Only Rapunzel. What does that have to do with anything?!" She cried, ducking as sand flew over her head. He spotted Rapunzel, hiding behind a table and ducking every so often when an attack got a little too close. He frowned deeply, wondering what Jack really was, and why no one else could see him.

"Everyone! Take cover under the hall! Go!" Hiccup cried, mostly so his father could hear him and get the villagers to do what he said. Stoick nodded in understanding and led the Vikings out of the main hall and down to where the walls were stronger and more reinforced.

With that done and in motion, Hiccup and Toothless aimed a plasma shot at the shadowy man, and cheered when it knocked him backwards a good six or seven feet. Jack's blue lights dimmed a bit as the sand attacks suddenly dropped and stopped their assault.

The attacker stood, wobbly for a moment, before raising his hands again to cause a load of black horses to form behind him. Jack cursed silently under his breath while Hiccup gasped. When would this end!? But then he saw her.

A little girl had hidden under one of the tables, without notice of her guardians and had accidentally been left behind to be in the middle of the attack. But what had Hiccup panicking was that a nightmare was running right at her.

"Toothless-go!" Hiicup cried, and the two rushed forward, shielding the girl just in time. Toothless breathed a great bomb of blue at the horse-like creature and it exploded into a thousand grains of sand. He breathed a sigh of relief as he picked up the girl and held her to his chest so that she didn't slip. A grin lit up his face and he started towards the trap door that led to the downstairs.

That grin melted away just as the girl did- into black sand.

A decoy! Hiccup's head whipped around just in time to see the black assassin pulling back his arm in a way that looked like he were holding a bow. A giant sort of spike was released, right towards Jack.

"JACK!" He and Rapunzel- whom Hiccup had thought was downstairs- screamed. But Jack only had enough time to turn and see the black spike before it smashed into his chest. He instantly fell from the air, where he had been stationed. Hiccup rushed Toothless forward and they caught him before he could take more damage by hitting the stone floor. Rapunzel jumped on with them (hair pulled back by a leather strip provided by Ruffnut) and held tightly to Jack while Hiccup steered and fought the shadow man.

And then the man went after them.

"If he keeps this up, he'll tear apart the building." Hiccup muttered. "Prepare to get wet back there!" He called. Rapunzel nodded and pulled the fur closer around her and tugged her cloaks hood over her head.

Toothless launched out the door- and to Hiccup's mixture of relief and terror- the attacker followed. They flew upward, trying to get away. But the shadow of a man transformed back into the nightfury replica, and flew after them. Matching each turn, each dive and each raise with the flap of a wing. Hiccup swore under his breath and they flew higher, giving him flashbacks of a certain incident involving a giant dragon.

The clouds gave them cover, and as much as Hiccup hated being wet, it was their best chance. They flew about in it for a while, keeping their cover as best as they could, until they heard nothing but the wind and rain falling below.

"How's Jack?" he called back, turning his head slightly.

"He won't open his eyes." Rapunzel said worriedly. Hiccup nodded, praying to the Gods for his new friend's life.

He dove down, deciding that tending to Jack was the priority at the moment, and was shocked when he and Toothless nearly dived right into the side of a mountain that was lined with trees. They swerved a sharp left and nearly crashed into another rock formation. They pulled up slightly so that they could see where they were, but not in the clouds quite. Hiccups eyes widened.

"Whoa…" he gasped.

They certainly weren't in Berk anymore- not if the huge, Irish themed, castle in front of them had anything to say about it.

* * *

**Hello! Tell me what you thought of this chapter pretty please! Also- to answer a question, the story takes place about three years after everything that happened in the characters own respective stories. :) **


	6. Chapter 6

**SO SORRY! I had final exams all week and then I had to move! Forgive my slowness. Please. The name calling was a nice touch there though. **

**PLEASE ENJOY. **

* * *

"Anything?" Hiccup sighed, looking over the thousandth hill to see what lay ahead. Just another vast expanse of grass and trees. Did it ever end?!

"Nope- not a sound." Rapunzel called back. "Maybe we should stop. Toothless looks exhausted."

"Yeah- he's done a lot-"

"You look exhausted."

Hiccup sighed at her observation, completely agreeing to it. He was-in fact- completely wiped out of any energy he may have possessed a day and a half ago. With no food in their systems and little to no sleep for any of them, the three conscious companions were at the end of their ropes. Even Rapunzel was struggling to keep her smile up with the tired that was pulling at every muscle in her body.

Toothless had at one point been used to such conditions, but after almost four years of living with Hiccup in the village, he no longer held the quality. Carrying Jack around wasn't really a normally big deal, but with how little he'd eaten how much he hadn't slept. He had never wanted cod as much as he did then, and he couldn't help but wonder if there was a- Yes!

Toothless trotted forward and nudged Hiccup's side. The Viking looked down at him and with a large yawn asked "What is it bud?" The dragon tossed his head in the direction he had heard the water running in. he hopped once, making sure Jack didn't fall off. "What is it? What did you find?" Rapunzel and Hiccup looked at each other before following after the excited dragon, unsure of what he was looking for.

The dragon's acute nose and sensitive ears followed the scent of moist ground and sound of rushing water. The distance was questionable because of the echoing in the deep forest area, but Toothless knew it was close. Double checking that the cold boy was still safely on his back, he pounced forward, just in time to jump right into the river that he was searching for in question.

The dragon sputtered for a moment, not sure what had just happened for a moment. Then he smiled his toothless grin and splashed his tail around, causing his rider and the princess who had just run up behind him.

"Ah! Toothless!" Hiccup cried as the water splashed up into his face, sending small sparks of wakefulness into his system. Rapunzel sighed in relief at the sight of the cool, rushing water that flowed beneath them. Almost squealing in delight, she splashed into the water next to the dragon, splashing more into Hiccup's face.

The three cooled in the water for a bit, the dragon diligently catching some fish as they passed by, while Hiccup quickly build a fire and cooked two of them for he and the princess, who ate it with a small amount of hesitance. She wasn't used to such dining after the years of eating baked goods in her tower, and then food that professional cooks made for the next four years. She shuddered at the first few bites, but quickly grew used to it- even liking it.

"So, do you think Jack is okay?" Rapunzel asked nervously, looking over at the white haired boy, who was currently lying against the great beasts belly. The said dragon had his wing elevated slightly to keep the cold boy out of the sunlight that was relentlessly beating down on the group.

"I don't know. He got hit by that arrow thing… but I didn't see any marks on him. I checked. Just a small bruise." Hiccup frowned. "Maybe he got damaged on the inside…? Like- broken bones or something."

"Maybe. I could try that… but I've never used it on something internal…" Rapunzel frowned, remembering something quite important. "Hiccup, help me wrap my hair around his chest."

"What?" Hiccup asked incredulously.

"Just trust me- okay? Jack is our only hope of even _vaguely _understanding what is going on, or where we are. Help me with this- Okay?"

Hiccup nodded slowly, lifting himself off of the rock he had been sitting on. He helped the girl lift Jack's upper body and wrap the ridiculous amount of hair around his torso. Hiccup almost laughed at how weird it looked, but he stopped when the Princess started to…_sing?_

_"Flower gleam and glow,_

_Let your power shine. _

_Save what has been lost, _

_Bring Back what once was mine" _

She sang the tune in an almost mournful tone, like one of the funeral songs that Hiccup's village would sing after a great battle or when an elder died. But the difference was that no one was dead.

But then- Hiccup almost yelped in surprise as the hair began to glow. Starting at the scalp of the blonde's head, and then working its way down into the rest of it, until it was a long, blonde, train of glowing magic stuff. Hiccup watched in fascination as the hair around Jack started to glow, and illuminated the boy's face and hair, making him look even deader than before. But he wasn't sure what to think of that.

_"Heal what has been hurt,_

_Change the fate's design._

_Save what has been lost_

_Bring back what once was mine, _

_What once was mine." _

She finished the song, and then stopped, eyes staring relentlessly at Jack. Green eyes stayed trained on him for a moment, when suddenly, the winter spirit started to cough with wakefulness. Black sandy substance fell from his mouth and he sputtered it out as if it were water that had gotten caught in his lungs. He sat up abruptly, holding himself up with a shaking arm and head down, letting more of the sand fall from it. Toothless patted his back with his tail, not really sure if that helped or not.

"Jack!" The other two teens cried happily, and worriedly as they dropped to his side. Jack continued to cough and sputter, and the endless amount of sand kept trickling from his lips. Hiccup noticed the frost patterns on the blue hoodie returning, where he hadn't even noticed they had melted. Jack finally stopped retching and sat up, gasping for breath.

"Are you alright?" A voice called down to them, in an accent that neither Hiccup nor Rapunzel had ever heard. The three looked up to see who had spoken.

* * *

"Mum! I'm gonna go get the horses ready!" Merida called up the stairwell to the said queen.

"Alright dear!" Eleanor called back down. "I'll join you in a moment!"

Merida smiled and practically skipped her way out the door to the stables, where Angus and Ebony were waiting for their riders. The white and black Clydesdales were impatiently pounding their hoofs against the wooden floor and whinnying.

"Alright, alright! Stop yer worryin!" She said with a laugh, patting Angus on the nose. "Mum'll be out soon enough, then we can get going." She told the two horses.

Just as she finished latching the saddle onto Ebony, Merida was pleased to hear her mother's quick but light footsteps coming toward her.

"Sorry I took so long dear! I had to write a letter to the other clans about some issues that were brought up-"

"It's alright mum!" Merida laughed, patting her mother's arm gently. "It's nothin' to worry about. Let's get going and then we can talk." She said happily, jumping up into Angus' saddle. Eleanor nodded and followed suit onto Ebony. The two gave the command, and the two horses took off, hooves pounding along the firm ground into the forest.

Merida couldn't help but wonder at the majesty of the land, no matter how many times she had ridden through it, it never lost the mystery or beauty. There was always something new to learn or find out there as well.

Even after three years, Merida's favourite part of the day was when she went on her ride. She especially loved it when her mother could go with her. They would ride for an hour or so, depending on the horribly indecisive weather that plagued the kingdom. Her mother hated it when it rained. It would tangled her long hair and make it difficult to brush out. Old habits died hard, but Merida didn't mind. It was a huge step that her mother wore her hair down at all. It was hard to believe that Eleanor had ever worn her hair in those stuffy braids all of the time. On formal occasions, Merida always thought it was weird to see her mother with that hair style again.

The wind whipped her mother's said hair about in a wonderful stream of golden-brown. Merida's own red hair was also thrown about and a huge grin was plastered to her face. The horses trudged forward as quickly as the terrain would allow and they found themselves deeper in the forest than they had been in this particular direction. Merida had made sure to shoot arrows into trees as they went to mark their path back home. It wouldn't do to get stuck in a forest again…

They pulled the reins on the horses as they approached a drop off. It was steep by the looks of it and chancing it was not in the plans. Merida hopped off of Angus to get a closer look.

She was surprised to hear voices coming from below. Motioning to Eleanor to be quiet, she approached the edge of the drop off.

Below, she found two people, standing near a large, black, rock and… talking. It was strange though, because it was with no accent that she had ever heard before, and it felt like it was half a conversation. Like… they were talking to someone that wasn't there.

"Are you alright?" She called down, to receive looks of surprise. The blonde, with ridiculously long hair might she add, was the first to respond. "Yes! We're fine!" She said cheerfully. "How are you?"

"Uh- great!- I guess." Merida looked over at her mother, who shrugged in response. Neither knew who these people were then… great. Maybe her father would know their accent? He was more familiar with foreign lands and people than they were.

"What are you doing out so far in the forest?" Eleanor finally spoke up, stepping cautiously closer to the edge. Her green dress swished as she stopped abruptly, when a small amount of rocks fell below due to her steps.

"W-we could really ask you the same thing." The boy- a simple villager by the looks of it- said with a shrug. "But we're lost… very. Lost."

"Ah- I see." Merida looked to her mother. What were they supposed to do? "Well- we could lead you back to the palace, and you could find your way from there I suppose." She suggested. "But can you get up here?"

"I can…" The girl said. Merida jumped back as she suddenly flung a lock of her rope-length hair upward and caught on a root just behind her. Then she skillfully used her arm strength to lift herself up and was suddenly standing right next to the princess and queen. Merida and Eleanor stared as the girl suddenly jumped and looked to her side, almost as if acknowledging someone, and then turned back to the boy below.

"Do you need a lift?" The girl called down, offering her hair as a rope for the boy.

"Ah- no… I got it." He said, patting the black rock. Merida and Eleanor jumped about ten feet when it suddenly moved! "Toothless, can you get us up there?" The rock nodded and it let him climb on, then jumped up and landed next to the queen, who squeaked (quite un-queen like. Merida would have to tease her later.) and took a few steps back.

"What- a dragon?" Merida gasped, subconsciously reaching for her belt, where her sword was hanging. But she was surprised when it wouldn't draw, as if someone were holding it down with their hand. She looked to see, but no one was there. She was only met with a cold breeze. And a funny look from the blonde girl.

"Oh- oops…yeahhh…" The boy nodded. He seemed to regret his actions. "Should have said something first… He won't hurt you, I promise." He said. Merida and Eleanor nodded slowly, unsure of what to think of this.

"But- they're extinct…?" Eleanor looked at her daughter, who nodded. "How…?"

The boy looked surprised for a moment, looking to the blank space between Merida and the blonde, and then looked back to them.

"It's a long story." He said softly, sadly. "Um… anyway- do you have something we could tie her hair back with? It's kind of…"

"In the way?" Merida suggested. The boy nodded.

"Uh yeah…" He said, scratching the back of his head in an awkward gesture. Merida nodded and went to her saddlebag, digging about for a moment before coming back with a leather strip.

"It's not much, but it should hold until we get back." She said.

"Thanks!" The girl said, accepting the token and using it to tie the hair back in a really long tail. "I'm Rapunzel." She said, holding out her hand for the other to accept. Merida stared at it for a moment, not understanding what she was supposed to do. After that awkward moment, Rapunzel pulled it away. "It's nice to meet you…?"

"Merida." The said told her. "And this is my mother."

"Eleanor." The queen nodded to the two.

"I'm Hiccup." Once again the two were staring at the boy, who was for some reason looked to his left like he was irritated. "I know… weird name."

"I'd say." Merida muttered. "b-but anyways… we'll just head back toward the palace and set you on yer way then."

"Thank you!" Rapunzel said happily, Hiccup nodding in agreement. "It means a lot, we really have no idea where we are."

"It's not a problem… hey!" Merida whipped around to see what had grabbed her hair, but nothing was there. Maybe it had caught on a twig or branch or something…

Hopping onto Angus and Ebony, the two royals lead the other two through the forest toward the castle. It was silent, and they made sure that they followed the arrows back, not losing their way.

"Soo… how did you two end up out here?" Hiccup asked, looking up at the riders on horses. He had seen a horse before, but never of this size. It was huge…

"We come riding through here quite often. Getting' to know the land better." Merida said, tossing her head back. She glanced up at the sky, where the sun was beginning to set. They had been gone longer than planned. "Can yer beast run?"

"Of course he can. Fastest dragon I know." Hiccup said easily. Rapunzel subconsciously held tigher around his shoulders, fearing how fast he really spoke of.

"Alright. We need to gallop if we're gonna make it back in time for supper." Merida said. "Keep up." With that, she and her mother took off, laughing gleefully as they went.

* * *

"Ah- I think she's challenging you." Jack said from next to Hiccup. Hiccup took a moment to realize that the spirit was right.

"Well then bud? Let's give them what they asked for." Hiccup said, patting his dragon's flank. Toothless gave his gummy grin and nodded, then took off.

Jack flew right next to them, not even struggling to keep up with the rushing dragon and its riders. But despite his laughter and general carefreeness, he kept an eye out for anything unusual- namely pitch or some strange shadow. The rush from going so fast made Hiccup laugh with nostalgia, for he hadn't been able to race on Toothless' back for a long time. A year at least.

As they flew, Rapunzel kept her face buried in Hiccup's back. She wondered- to herself of course- what it was like. To be unseen. Of course, she knew what it was like to feel alone… as a child she had felt so lonely, which had actually been what led her to watching out the window until she saw the lanterns. But She couldn't imagine being invisible. All her life- especially after she had left the tower with Eugene- she had been pretty good at making friends. Even from barely meeting the thugs at the Snuggly Duckling, it was like breathing to her. She had even become friends with that girl in Hiccup's town- Astrid.

Jack noticed that Rapunzel wasn't acting normally, but decided to ignore it for now, and ask her later. He didn't want her to fall off of toothless while trying to hold on and keep a conversation at once.

He was also impressed at how fast the two horses ahead were going. He had seen plenty of Clydesdales in his days, especially in parades and things, but he had never really seen one run. It was a sight to behold with the creature's rippling muscles and snorting nostrils. It made him almost fear ever crossing one. Their hooves seemed to be as big as his own face- which he was sure would be squashed if he got any closer to the creatures. He knew they couldn't see him, but they were aware that something was there. But they kept going.

Finally, they arrived at the huge, stone, gothic style castle. Hiccup and Jack looked at each other, feeling the eerie aura of it, as if it had been around for centuries, but they couldn't possibly be sure for the style of the people in this era. But Rapunzel seemed genuinely in awe of its majesty and mysterious air.

"Mum- stay with the- erm… guests. I'll get the horses back to the stable." Merida said. Eleanor nodded and turned to look at the two on the dragon.

"If you're hungry, we would love to have you for supper." Eleanor said with a gentle smile, indicating towards the front door. "My husband does love company." She led the way gracefully inside, careful of the loose stone on the stairway. Only once at the top did she realize-

"Oh, and watch your step-!" But she watched in terror as the boy's foot caught under the stone and sent him flailing backwards. The breath caught in her throat for a moment, fearing that the boy would fall down the neck-breaking length of stairs, but that breath was released when his black beast quickly caught him. She was surprised to see- or more surprised that she hadn't noticed- that the boy's left leg was replaced by a strange metal contraption, that bent and flattened at the end like a sort of spatula or spade. She smiled gently at him, wondering how he had lost a limb at such a young age.

"My husband will love you." She thought to herself, leading them towards the dining hall. The two were very polite and quiet, which for some reason made the queen a little uneasy… they just didn't seem like the silent type when she had met them in the forest.

"Stay outside here bud, I don't want any more drama…" Hiccup whispered to the dragon. "Go hang out somewhere, figure out the grounds." The dragon nodded and bounded back down the stairs to the fields that he had spotted that was filled with the wonderful tufts of _grass_.

"Eleanor!" King Furgas said with his usual happy tone and upbeat attitude, sweeping his wife into a hug on the spot. "You were gone for a quite a while this time around!" he said. She blushed slightly at his actions in front of their guests, and pulled away a bit.

"Dear, we have guests." She whispered, and he looked up to see the two young adults walk up behind his wife. But he instantly saw Hiccup's peg leg, and a huge grin sprouted on his face, making Hiccup nervous quite instantaneously.

"Welcome to our humble abode!" He said, reaching out and patting Hiccup on the head (a wee bit harshly, but Hiccup would say nothing. He was used to it by now…) "What's yer names? You don't look like yer from around here- are ya?" he chuckled as they went into the dining hall, his wife on his rather muscular arm. "BOYS! Get DOWN HERE!" he called up the stairs as they passed them. Hiccup and Rapunzel Jumped (nearly dropping the girls hair) as three, red-headed, around ten year old kids suddenly slid down the rails of the stairs. They did mini flips as they landed and proceeded to race ahead of the group to the dining hall. Hiccup and Rapunzel stared after them for a moment, collecting their jumbled thoughts that seemed to have been scattered by the three boys and then proceeded to follow them to the dining hall.


	7. Chapter 7

The aura of the dinner table was so mixed and jumbled that Merida wasn't even sure if this could be considered a gathering. It was more a frightening group of people who weren't sure what was going on- and that was exactly what it was. Her father was telling the tale of how he lost his leg (again) and Rapunzel and Hiccup were listening interestedly. But it was all so awkward because no one knew what to say after the story had finished. It made them very uncomfortable to be at the table with everyone…

And the stupid tugs at the back of her hair were not helping!

"Boys- quit pulling my hair!" Merida finally sighed, looking behind her to see… nothing!

"We aren't doing anything." One of them sighed, Merida couldn't be sure which one because she wasn't really looking.

"What on earth-?" Merida sighed, looking around. Something had been tugging at her hair all night! It had made her stutter or stop mid-sentence multiple times, and it made her feel like she was losing her mind!

"Maybe it's the white haired guy behind you?" One of the other boys said, not even looking up from whatever prank he was pulling under the table. Merida frowned and looked around again, not seeing a thing. She looked to the two guests, and was surprised to see that they were both glaring behind her shoulder.

"HA! Boys, don't go tryin' ta be tricken' yer sister with ghost stories!" King Fergus laughed. "Y'know she won' believe ya!"

"But there is!" Once again, Merida didn't know whether it was Harris, Hubert or Hamish who had spoken, because another small, barely noticeable tug had come at her hair. Again! What-

"Jack would you stop!" Hiccup suddenly said from the other side of the table. Everyone froze and stared at the peg-legged Viking. He was standing up with his hands on the table as if he were going to shove it across the room. His broad shoulders were tense and his eyes looked quite irritated. Rapunzel looked slightly shocked, as if she would never expect anything like that out of the man next to her.

Jack stared at Hiccup, who looked slightly flushed now that he realized what he had just done. He felt sort of bad… since it was _sort_ of his fault that he was yelling at… well… _him. _But he didn't need to be such a stick in the mud! Jack was actually even surprised at his reaction. All he had been doing was looking at the mysterious mop that the red headed princess called hair. It was huge! No really. He had been all over the world over and over, spreading winter and fun. But he hadn't seen hair like this in years, and last time he had he had been….

"_Oh my gosh. I'm in Scotland or something again." _ Jack realized in a flash of shock. He shouldn't have been, but at the same time, he hadn't been in Scotland five-hundred something years ago. This was like… Ancient Rome to him. He had never been there, and he had no idea what to do or how to act in this day and age. Of course, he didn't have any idea how to behave in Viking area age place or whatever either. Why this was freaking him out at the moment really didn't make sense to Jack. Maybe it was because it had finally hit him that he had been _time travelling _this whole time.

"Keep it cool. You're Jack Frost. You're the guardian of fun and children. You fight off nightmares… you can handle a little _time travel _it's not a big deal…"

"You should stop talking to yerself, people will think you're crazy." One of the triplets said. Jack looked up to see that he wasn't talking to him (thank Mim) but to Hiccup. Who he still felt bad about. Hiccup, however, was completely ignoring the triplets, and continued to stare at Jack.

"Are you alright?" Eleanor asked, looking at the boy with concern. Hiccup's face flushed red and his ears turned a slight pink and he sat down, chair sliding on the floor with a strange squeak that only added to the Viking's embarrassment.

"Yes. I'm sorry." Hiccup said. "I- uh- haven't slept in a few days." He said awkwardly. "I'm sorry."

"Oh you poor dears." The queen stood and calmly crossed over the floor gracefully and put her hand on Hiccup's shoulder and Rapunzel's as well. "I'll show you to a room and you can rest there. We can figure out where you're headed tomorrow. For now get your rest." She said with a gentle smile.

"Oh- uh… thank you." Rapunzel said with her winning smile. "We really appreciate it."

"It isn't a problem. Fergus ? Could you show this young man to his room? I'll take the miss to a separate. Merida? Could you help me?" The kindly queen started to lead the Blonde princess towards the stairwell. Merida nodded, standing from her seat and grabbing a cake (or two) from the table and following.

Jack watched as the two were led away by the others, leaving him alone with the three troublemaking redheads. He looked at them, and he was a little surprised to see that they looked right back at them with a blue gaze. Not a word was spoken for several moments, as the four sets of eyes stared at each other. Somehow a strange sort of connection was made just by looking into each other's eyes. Jack wasn't sure how they could really believe in him, but they were kids. And they looked like… they liked to have fun.

A mutual respect… of troublemakers alike.

* * *

"How long have you been growing out your hair exactly?" Merida asked as she wove another (surprisingly soft) length of hair together in a braid. The girl in front of her paused to think in her own braiding.

"My whole life really." She finally said. "I never really got an actual haircut." Well it wasn't really a _lie. _Was it? The only "haircut" She got was when Eugene had used a piece of glass to ultimately save her life from her own "Mother" and she didn't let that count. Even thought it had turned out surprisingly cute.

No really. How had he cut it so perfectly? With a piece of glass no less.

Maybe he could have cut hair for a living in another life.

But that aside. It wasn't a lie. She had never had a haircut in her life. Just a hair… slash. Yeah… a hairslash.

"Wow. So have I, but it never got this long." Eleanor said with a frown. "That's amazing. I suppose it depends on who you are. How your hair grows."

"Y-yeah." Rapunzel said. "I guess so."

"So you are betrothed?" Merida asked. Rapunzel looked at the other princess with a little surprise.

"Betrothed?"

"You know- you're getting married?" Merida pointed to the thin, silver ring on her finger. Rapunzel blushed slightly at her own air-headedness. Duh she was talking about the ring!

"Oh- yeah." She smiled with a winning grin. Eleanor smiled at her glowing demeanor while Merida found herself quite puzzled. How could anyone be happy about marriage to someone they don't know? She would know… well sort of anyway.

"Well congratulations." Eleanor said, picking up the conversation before the pause got awkward. "He must be a great man for you to be so excited for it."

"Oh he is!" Rapunzel said with a blinding smile again. Merida still found her happiness quite questionable. But let the smile spread to her own face, as questionable and confusing as it was to the red head, the blondes happiness was contagious. "His name is Eugene Fitzherbert." She explained.

"Yoo- jeen Fits- what…?" Merida repeated on her own tongue. "A strange name. Is he a foreigner?"

"Um… from here. Yes." Rapunzel said. "But I suppose that I am as well."

"What brings you to Dumbroch then?" Merida asked. "There's not too much to accomplish out here. For a foreigner anyway." She thought for a moment. "Unless you're here to plunder or some nonsense. But our people are a wee bit too stubborn to let that happen."

"Plunder? As in steal? Oh no! I wouldn't even try." Rapunzel said. "My people are too kind to do that. Well… Eugene might have once, but he's a different man now than when I met him- A little rough around the edges, but he's actually a big softy on the inside. He didn't act like it before though, oh but that's a long story." She spoke quickly enough to make the story confusing, but slowly enough for them to understand what she said. Merida exchanged looks with her mother, each sporting a look of surprise. But they did always say that opposites attract… look at Eleanor and Fergus for instance.

"Well he sounds positively… charming." Merida said, finishing off her own chunk of the blonde strands. "And you're really so happy to marry?" Rapunzel nodded vigorously, almost dropping her section of hair in the process. Merida frowned, trying to stomach the almost sickening information. "Finished here." She announced, tying it off with a finality, using a small leather band to secure it. "How goes it on your end mother?"

"Almost…. There." She said, doing the same and tying off the long braid. "Done here. And you dear?" She looked to Rapunzel and saw that she had a finished rope of hair in her own hands.

"Done here." She said.

"Alright- dear me this is a lot of hair. Let's braid the three together and then fold it up so it doesn't drag on the floor." Eleanor said. Merida nodded and helped to twist the three braids together into a larger one, making an oddly beautiful and intricate rope of blonde. Tying it off with another piece of leather, they then worked to fold it in half and hold it in place with a headband sort of leather piece.

"Thank you so much. I didn't have time to do it myself before I left." Rapunzel said with a genuine thankfulness in her voice. Eleanor stood and smiled at the girl, stretching her fingers a bit from the hard work of braiding the hair.

"It wasn't a problem." Merida said, also standing. "Just make sure you get your rest and we can talk over everything tomorrow."

"Thank you!" Rapunzel said. "For everything. I don't know how we would be right now if you hadn't helped us."

"Like I said, it wasn't a big deal. See you tomorrow." Merida said with a wave. Rapunzel just gave off her everlasting smile and waved back as the two left.

* * *

"So m'boy!" Fergus said with a wide grin as he led Hiccup down the vast halls of his castle. "How did ye gain such a fine wound there?" He asked, indicating towards Hiccups peg leg with his giant hand. "And the odd craftsmanship of yer leg is nothin' less of astonishin'!"

"Ahhh- I usually don't talk about it…" Hiccup said slowly, "It's a long story."

"Well tell me the short version then!" Fergus laughed boisterously. "Surely it is a great tale."

"Well, ah- I went into battle with- annnother clannn…." Hiccup said, dragging out his n's as he spoke, thinking of what he said as he said it. "And when I was fighting their… leader. They, um… tore it up pretty bad. And I had to have it… cut off." He explained, cringing a bit at the pains he had endured getting used to the leg being gone for several months after. It was only a dull throb in storms anymore, but it still was not a memory (or series of) that he liked to dwell on.

"Tha's amazing!" Fergus said, slapping the boy on the back. Hiccup was strongly reminded of his own father and Gobber back at home and how they acted. Very lively, very strong and very loud. But kind when it mattered. Hiccup found his fondness for the king growing as the evening went. And even nicer was that he didn't say anything about-

"So who was this Jack you were talking 'bout at dinner?"

Never mind.

"Eh- he's a friend I got stuck with on the journey over. He was always pulling really unnecessary pranks." Hiccup huffed, thinking of his new friend at dinner, pulling Merida's hair. It irritated him that Jack got away with it. In fact- he got away with it and hiccup got branded as the crazy guy. Why couldn't people see Jack? It was just too problematic for everyone else. At least now it was.

"Sounds like my sons! I bet they would get along brilliantly." Fergus laughed. "They're wee troublemakin' devils if I've ever seen em. One time they switched the heads of the elk around in the trophy room! Took hours to figure out which one went where!" The giant red head barked in exasperated laughter, but not angry. "Well here's yer room. Wish we had more time t' talk 'bout tha' leg! But another time- aye?"

"ahaha- yeah. Sure." Hiccup smiled his signature goofy smile and he waved as the giant man started off towards his own room. "Goodnight."

Sighing, he closed the giant door, and waited for the footsteps of the king to fade completely. It was a force of habit. Even with his own father he waited for him to be out of earshot to let out his own exasperated, confused sigh of the day. He felt himself slide down the way of the door and he landed awkwardly on his backside, knees pulled up too close to his own chest. It was hard to breathe in this position, but he was too tired to care. He felt his head lean back against the wood, and it connected with a thump. Finally the daily sigh escaped his lungs and held itself out until it was completely depleted of air to give.

"Tired?"

"Yeah- it's been a long day." Hiccup sighed.

"Oh really? Why is that?"

"Oh I don't know- I've been kind of torn from home… to a place I don't even know where. My leg is killing me because we've been flying through storms and I can tell another storm is coming in. Not to mention Jack's little trick-pull at dinner. I feel like a total idiot because of that- and I shouldn't! He really was there- it's not my fault no one else can see him."

"I can't imagine how frustrating it is to be able to see someone who's not there."

"I never said- wait." Hiccup looked up and yelped in surprise.

* * *

"This is quite the place you got here." Jack said, looking around at the stone walls and iron grated doors and windows. "Haven't seen much like this where I'm from."

The boys didn't say much, but their words were kind of given through their actions. Small nods and facial expressions said almost everything, but only every once in a while did they say a sentence or two.

They had instantly taken a liking to Jack, who still wondered where they had ever heard of Jack frost, when he knew for a fact that his story or whatever didn't even come around until at least a hundred years later than then. But he supposed that maybe they were fans of having fun? They were kids after all. But whatever the reason, they were showing him around the castle, and he helped them pull a few mini tricks on the way as they went. He wondered what Hiccup would do if he knew what he was doing… if he was still mad about dinner. He still felt bad, but being Jack Frost, he hid those sort of emotions. He would apologize later… maybe.

"Do you like cake?" One of the redheads… Hamich… or some other selection of H-names that Jack couldn't remember… said. Jack looked at their hopeful faces and felt that he shouldn't say no… even though he didn't eat.

"Yeah!" Jack said enthusiastically.

"Alright… here's the plan…"

**Oh dear~! What is happening? I know much didn't happen, but the next one should make up for it. :D Tell me what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

Merida sighed as she walked down the hallway. She had a crick in her neck now from whipping her head around so much trying to find out what on earth had been tugging and combing through her hair. The strange part was, was that a knot that she had been trying to get out for ages was suddenly gone, but that was beside the point. Maybe it had finally just fallen out. Or something.

But that thing about the white haired man behind her? Of course she didn't believe in ghosts… to an extent of course. But she did believe in wisps… which were to an extent spirits… so what was there to say that there weren't other kinds of spirits? Or perhaps the boys were being the tricksters they were? Trying to mess with her head? No- they knew things like that were pointless, and they more liked playing pranks on servants and their parents (to an extent).

"Argh… I want to believe them… I do. But it just sounds too crazy and ridiculous." She groaned, running her hands down her face. She wished she could talk to her mother about it, but she had gone to bed hours ago, and Merida had been wandering the vast halls since. "Argh, wha' am I thinkin'?!" She scolded herself. "Ther's noo such thing!" she pushed her back against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the ground. Resting her head back against the stone, the redhead closed her eyes and decided that she needed a breath of fresh air.

Hopping up, she dashed to her room and snatched up her bow and quiver. Then she swiftly made her way back down to the front, through the dining room and out the kitchen, leaving a note on the door for her mother in case she woke in the middle of the night to inspect the cakes. (a habit she had only three years ago picked up… after a certain incident) Her feet pounded down the dirt way and to the stables and she snatched up her saddle and easily slapped it onto Angus's back with a gentle flourish. Quickly, she latched the buckles and hopped into the saddle.

"Let's go Angus." She whispered, and they were off.

Even in the dark, she easily shot all of her targets in the dead center. The one hanging in the tree swung back and forth from the force of being hit on both sides with her finely crafted arrows. (a gift from her father on her last birthday.)

She leaned in close to Angus so that she didn't lose track of his movement in the dark in an effort to keep from being thrown. Something she didn't particularly like doing in the dark. Or anytime really.

Bursting through the foliage, she found herself in the middle of a large circle, created by tall, thick stone structures that reminded her of a sort of ancient relic. Staring around, she looked at the stones with interest in her eyes.

"Well these seem familiar, don't they Angus?" She said, patting her horses mane, but only for her hand to pass through air. Reacting quickly, she looked down to see that she was floating in midair! Suddenly she dropped heavily to the ground and rolled a bit on the dirty floor. Looking up, she saw that Angus was completely gone and she was alone in the circle of stones.

"Wha's goin-?!" She cut herself off as she heard heavy breathing from behind her. Slowly, she turned herself around to see…

"Mum!" she cried, running up to her unconscious mother, who was lying not a foot away from her. Looking into her face, she found no colour or sign of life. "Mum! Mum wake up, wha-!" Then she noticed the slash marks covering her body. But not only her mothers, but Merida herself as well.

"Wha happen'd?!" She cried, looking about. Her Father, brothers and for a reason she couldn't fathom, Rapunzel and Hiccup were there too. All slashed and either unconscious or…

"no… this isn't happening! Wha' happen'd? I never saw-!" A breath came out from behind her.

"Mor'du!" She gasped, backing away, cringing at the pain of her wounds that she didn't remember getting. The said monster bear reared up on his hind legs in mention of his name and roared loudly, sending Merida toppling over in fear. "No! You- yer not alive!" She cried. "MUM!" She cried as it lunged at her.

_"Get up princess." _

What? Merida looked about and found that nothing was there. Mor'du had disappeared and all was black. No images of her family, no stone monument, not even the ground was present. Just… the moon?

_"Get up." _

She was now standing on the icy surface of a lake. She peered down beneath her, too afraid to move. Strange shoes adorned her feet, that seemed to have knives on the bottom that made it hard to balance. The ice was cracking beneath her.

"Don't look down, look at me. It's going to be alright." The strange voice was there again, but it sounded so… familiar. How it was familiar in any way shape or form was lost on Merida. "Don't be afraid. We're going to be fine." She had never heard that voice before and she knew it. Positively.

_"PRINCESS." _

Merida gasped as her eyes flew open, she nearly fell over from where she was sitting against the wall, where she must have fallen asleep. It wasn't so uncommon for her to do so… she wandered the halls a lot. But never had someone woke her up before.

She looked up to meet the worried blue eyes of… who was that? She looked up to see that it was a man no older than eighteen or nineteen that was crouching in front her. He had dark circles around his eyes, but that didn't make him look tired somehow. His eyes brightened his pale, deathly looking face considerably and it made him- in fact- look very handsome. His hair didn't help him look any more dark skinned however, for it was white as snow and he held a thin, shepherd's staff in the crook of his arm and against his shoulder. His tunic was blue and seemed to be laced with ice patterns…that were in fact very convincing. She was a bit surprised to see he had no shoes either, for the palace floors were always freezing in stormy weather.

"Oh good. I thought you would never wake up. It's times like these where I wish I had sandy with me." The man said, almost as if he didn't expect her to hear him, as he stood. He began to walk off and not look back. Merida stared after him, wondering what had just happened. She rubbed her eyes quickly, to make sure they were clear, and then opened them, and the man was gone.

"I'm goin' bonkers." She sighed, standing up and heading to her room to get a proper sleep.

* * *

"- and that's how I ended up with sixteen cakes." Jack sighed. "If you don't believe me, ask one of the boys later."

"Alright, alright. I believe you, but you honestly can't expect me to eat them all." Rapunzel sighed, taking one anyway. "We can maybe pack some for when we leave."

"Yeah." Jack said, leaning back against the window of the bedroom wall.

"So do you really think she saw you? I mean- did she say anything to you?"

"No, but it almost felt like she could see me, but I think she thought she was imagining things. Besides, how would anything have ever convinced her that I was real? No one has talked to her about the spirit of winter, Jack Frost. Ever. I don't even exist for another hundred or so years." He griped, getting up and floating to the chandelier. Rapunzel huffed. "And it looked like she was having some sort of nightmare, so I'm wondering if Pitch is here again. What do I do? I still hurt from the last attack. I'm not so worried about that, but you know. It's on my mind." Jack groaned. Rapunzel's eyes widened a bit.

"Well you can start by staying in one place." She started, pointing back to the window. "Then you can explain to me how your wounds can still hurt. I healed you." She said firmly.

"What? Well, see the sand got inside my body when he hit me with that arrow, and when you healed me, I think it only got the sand out of me, so that I could heal on my own, I'm fine with that but it making me wonder if your hair can heal stuff hurt by the sand too."

"What do you mean?" She asked, making sure to cling to every word he spoke. He thought for a moment. "I mean, how do you still hurt?"

"Well… you told me that your hair heals wounds and kind of rewinds time… right?" Rapunzel nodded. "Well, that's all well and good, but I don't think it can heal _nightmares._" He explained.

"You mean that black stuff?"

"Yup. In a nutshell I suppose, that 'black stuff' is what's causing all this stuff, including Eugene's state. See, that's how Pitch spreads nightmares and darkness and everything. He almost killed the guardians with it. In fact, he did kill the sandman with it… or at least he absorbed him. He was shot with the same arrow as I was back qw245at Hiccup's place." Rapunzel, although she had no idea who he was talking about, covered her mouth with her hands. The thought of anyone dying was horrible. Even someone she had never met. "But since he was already made of sand, he was fine in the end." Jack explained quickly.

"That's a relief. But… if it killed your friend, how did it not kill you?" Rapunzel asked, looking up at the boy, who had once again moved up to the chandelier. Jack looked thoughtful- as per not usual- as he looked down at the princess.

"I don't know. I honestly have no clue. But that isn't the issue. If the red-head is having nightmares that means Pitch is nearby. We need to be ready for anything."

"Show me your wounds." Rapunzel said quickly. Jack froze, looking down at her.

"What?"

"Get down here and show me where you were shot with that thing! I need to check something." Rapunzel was praying that she was wrong, begging whatever deity that watched them at the moment. "You said that you still hurt, which should be impossible, because I healed you. No one has ever felt pain after I healed them."

Jack jumped down from his perch and landed in front of her. She instantly dove for the hem of his shirt… thingy… and lifted it to his collarbone. And gasped.

Black tendrils had spread from a bruise that had sprouted terribly on his entire upper body. It looked like his heart was pumping inky black through his veins and spreading it slowly with each pump, but the question was, if it was pumping that black stuff, how was Jack not completely black now?

"Jack- you said that your friend was… ab-absorbed right? Like, he turned into the sand or whatever that stuff is?"

"Yeah-?"

"What if it's doing the same thing to you?" She asked. "I mean, what if it somehow got into your blood? And whatever that sand was that you kind of threw up… it was just the stuff that got into your organs and that's what I healed? Maybe it's pumping through your blood as we speak and that's why-!"

"But that's impossible…" Jack muttered to himself, pulling away from the princess. His hoodie fell back over the horrifying bruise and he put a hand over his heart. "It's not- it's completely impossible."

"Why? It makes sense, if your friend did it, then so can you-"

"Just trust me. It's impossible."

Rapunzel puffed up her cheeks and stomped one foot on the ground. "Fine. Let's go talk to Hiccup. He needs to know all of this as well." She said, grabbing Jack's cold hand.

"N-no… we don't even know what room he's in, and you need to sleep. I'm sorry I bothered you." Jack said quickly, pulling away. "Get some rest, I'll talk to Hiccup tomorrow. Promise." He said quickly. "I'll go- uh, check on Toothless. Yeah- he's by himself."

Rapunzel sighed as he flew out the door, leaving her in the room by herself, with a large pile of cakes on her bed. "Jack…" She said worriedly. Then pouted. "I still can't eat all of these!"

The Guardian of Fun soared through the sky, eyes narrowed in concentration as he spread snow about. Sure it was early august earliest, but he always spread a little winter when he was upset.

How was he infected? And it was impossible for his heart to spread anything through his blood… because in order to do that, it would need to be beating. And it wasn't. Simple as that. He wished that he could explain better why that was to Rapunzel without freaking her out. But he wasn't sure how to do something like that.

_"Yeah… I died 300-some years ago and I've been spreading winter ever since. So technically, I'm dead." _

Yeahhh, probably not the best way to say it. Dear Lord it made him sound like a creepy zombie of some sort. But all his life he's been pretty blunt and said things straight.

Landing in a tree, he crouched on a thick branch and looked around him. The frost on the trees made everything look really beautiful and pure, which made Jack always feel better. But now he felt tainted. As if Pitch had marred any sense of fun he had in him and had replaced it with that nightmare sand. The very thought of it in his chest made him want to puke… again.

Taking off again, Jack flew towards the stables, where Toothless had chosen to… sleep? Nest? Whatever dragons did at night. He had no idea. He had never seen a dragon before and it was an experience he had never really expected to run into. Of course, he had no reason not to believe in dragons- he and North and Bunnymund and the others were proof enough that things existed. But dragons… he had been told they were extinct.

And apparently so had the queen they had met, Eleanor. So the whole thing was a bit strange.

Landing lightly on the ground, Jack walked over to the stables. A large, black boulder with scales was resting in the middle of a center stall… snoring slightly.

"Huh. I guess you're not nocturnal." He said, crouching down by him and looking into the dragon's face. It's large black eyes were closed and it's- his nostrils flared with each heaving breath he took. Jack sat down completely, putting his staff in his favorite position against the crook of his elbow and the joint of his shoulder and neck.

"It must be nice, being able to sleep." He said, glancing up at the moon, knowing full well that the dragon could not hear him in his slumber. "And have a friend like Hiccup."

Jack was never one to feel sorry for himself. So he wasn't sure why on earth he was saying that. Maybe it was a bunch of things all happening all at once, or the stress of knowing what was slowly spreading through his body who _knew _how. Perhaps it was the new prospect of being seen by people older than ten or eleven years old. Or maybe… he was lonely.

Ugh, he did not just think that.

"Blaaaah." Jack groaned, leaning his head back. "I'm turning sappy!" Toothless grunted at that, shifting slightly in his sleep. "Sorry." Jack looked around again, spying the huge horse of the red-headed princess. That thing was sleeping standing up, and still looked huge and ferocious.

"Don't ever step on me." Jack said, settling deeper into the crook of Toothless' shoulder to try and get comfortable. The creature was one of fire, so he wasn't all that surprised when he was surrounded by warmth of an _almost _uncomfortable temperature. But it wasn't. It kind of reminded him of North's living room fire that was eternally burning, thanks to the efforts of Phil and the other Yetis.

"Welll- you're lucky anyway, Toothless. Still a weird name anyway. But Dragons. There are a lot of cool stories about you guys. Like… Chinese people love you guys. A symbol of wisdom… and in Japan. But there you more eat sacrifices and stuff for _longevity. _A sign of good fortune." He explained needlessly.

He didn't know that Toothless had opened one eye and was listening to every word.

"But me… all of my legends are kind of creepy. Like… I lure kids to my lake and kill them in one of em… or that I was some kid who was killed and dumped in a lake… not _totally _true… I just drowned." He said awkwardly. "I don't think I'm all that scary… but anyway." He sighed.

Suddenly a warm, slimy muscle swept over Jacks arm, neck, face and hair. He turned his head and looked at the bright-eyed dragon, who had a toothless, gummy grin. Jack grinned, looking at him.

"_Now _ I get the name, you big softie." He said, scratching him under the chin, and panicked when the dragon fell forward in blissful unconsciousness. "Ah! Are you okay?! I-" Both of them suddenly looked up when they heard a yelp come from the castle.

It sounded a lot like Hiccup.

* * *

"I- I'll have you know! When- I get out of this I'll- uh-!"

"You'll do what? Kick me with your peg leg? Doubtful. Dear me, you sound like the Toothfairy." Pitch said, circling around the young man who was trapped by the black sand that had formed strange rope over his wrists and ankles. "You're nothing without your precious dragon. You can't fly, you can't fight."

"I'll show you who can't fight-!" Hiccup struggled against the ropes, thinking desperately with every cell in his mind to come up with a plan to get out of this. He paused. "Then why me? If I'm so worthless, why go after me you big coward?" He demanded, but yelped loudly when sand suddenly filled his mouth. He spit it out, struggling against the dry feeling in his mouth.

"Enough talk. But I'll tell you I suppose, if time is still on my side. Jack- is the reason, you see."

"What?" Hiccup asked, looking at the nightmare king. "what do you mean, Jack?"

"I mean just that. No need to go into detail. But I have something that I want to try if I can." Pitch smiled evilly, as if he knew something that Hiccup didn't. Which apparently he did, because he had no idea what he was talking about.

"What did you do to him?"

"Are you aware of what Jack is? What he does and how he even has stayed alive for so long?" Hiccup stared at him, wondering what on earth the man was talking about, which made Pitch laugh manically. "Oh this is rich! You mean to say you don't know?" Hiccup shook his head. "How old, did Jack tell you he was?" Pitch asked. "Did he tell you, exactly what he does?"

"He- he controls weather and stuff, but I- I never really thought to ask how old he was." Hiccup said with a frown. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Tell me, oh great _Dragon conqueror…" _Where had he learned that nickname?! "Do you really think… Jack is someone like you? You've noticed that no one else can see him, you've seen that people think you're crazy when you talk to him."

"SO? Just because… Rapunzel can see him!"

"Oh indeed, the girl with the magic hair, am I right?" Pitch cackled, floating around the room in as a disturbing way he could. "Because that makes complete sense. Magic hair, flying albinos. Did it ever occur to you that they were lying? That… none of their talents or powers were real?

You're the smart one, right? You made a downed dragon fly, you engineered a leg that helps you walk more comfortably. You managed to take down a giant dragon… with nothing but a couple of tame dragons and teenagers… that didn't ever believe in you."

"How- ?"

"I know everything little dragon boy. I know your past, I know how close you are to your dragon. But you know what I know most of all?" Hiccup shook his head. "Your fears. I've always known that better than anyone.

So why do you trust those two? You honestly think they really care about you? That your interests matter to them? After everything, you think that this fight will benefit you?"

Hiccup cursed his thought process and how it was going downhill so quickly. How was it that this man- the enemy!- was able to talk him into doubting everything he thought he understood to this point? No- he couldn't do that. It was just like those three years ago… when his father had basically told him he was scum before the battle. It wasn't a memory he liked to dwell on, but he hadn't let his moral down last time and he wouldn't now.

"I don't have to question it… the benefit. I don't care about that. For some reason, I was chosen to do this battle. I don't really intend to lose it, or doubt myself or others now." Hiccup said, glaring at the nightmare king with every fiber of malice he had. (wasn't much, but still)

Pitch frowned. Well that hadn't worked. Time to move to plan B…

"I'm not telling you to doubt. I am just asking, how much of the truth do you know? What has Jack told you? How do you know to trust someone you barely know?" Pitch asked in his silky voice.

"PITCH." A shout emanated from the hallway, and both Hiccup and Pitch looked up at the door, and jumped a bit as it slammed open. In the door way was Jack and a very angry looking Toothless.

**Dun Dun Duuuuunnnn... What just happened?**


	9. Chapter 9

Merida wandered down the hall, and sighed for the thousandth time. She hadn't seen the white haired boy again. Just her brothers running about with what looked like an armful of cakes each.

Turning the corner, she was surprised to run straight into something quite large. Looking up, she saw her father and mother. "Oh, hello." She said moodily. "What're you still doin up?"

"Oi there! Ye look like ye've seen a ghost me darlin'!" He said, putting a large hand on her shoulder. "We were just takin' a midnight stroll fer some air."

"What's the matter Dear?" Her mother added, gently guiding her daughter so that the three could walk together.. "You haven't been yourself tonight."

Merida sighed.

"Well. Somethin's been tuggin my hair all night, and I fell asleep in the hallway earlier." She said. "I had a strange dream… a sort of vision I suppose." She said, almost doubtfully. "It seemed so real."

"A nightmare dear?"

"Sort of… but it was so real! I didn't even realize I was asleep until I woke up! But when I did… someone was there. I dunno… perhaps I was still half sleepin', but it was a man… with white hair. He was pale, and cold and… he had cakes!" Merida said with a sigh. "Agh, I shouldn't worry 'bout it. It was just a dream."

"Sometimes dear, our dreams tell us more than we think they do. Sometimes they are a sign, sometimes they are a way for our heart to communicate with our head. And sometimes,"

"Ye learn somethin' 'bout yerself or someone else lassie. Don't ferget that." Her father said.

Merida hoped they were wrong.

"Let him go, _now._" Jack growled, fury filling his gut to the brim. Pitch laughed, pushing his foot back behind him and then kicking forward, blasting a decent amount of sand at Jack, blinding him for a moment. He stopped the attack with his own blast of ice. They danced, dark and light blasts coming from either one as they battled, flipping and turning and jumping around the large room.

"What? Is this all you've got, Jack?" Pitch laughed, blasting attack after attack at the winter spirit. With a last minute smile, he aimed at Hiccup and blasted sand at him. Jack dashed forward and grabbed him, wrenching him out of the way and out the window.

"JACK YOU IDIOT." Hiccup cried, watching the ground get closer. But then he and the winter spirit swooped upwards, causing the viking's foot to touch the ground smoothly and land easily on the soft dirt. Jack flew back up and resumed his battle with Pitch.

Hiccup watched, amazed at the battle of light versus dark. Black sand clashed with whitish-blue light, and created a sort of familiar scene. Black clouds filled with a lightning that indicated the oncoming storm.

"Ah! _There's _the man I want to see!" Pitch cackled smoothly, disappearing with a flourish of black. "_Jack Frost, bringer of storms_!" Apparently he had been thinking the same of the fight as Hiccup had. Jack raised his staff in defense as he watched multiple shadows of the Nightmare King circled around he and his companions, making the foresty backdrop and castle seem even more haunting than it had before. Hiccup watched fearfully as the shadows seemed to multiply around them as they circled.

"Jack- What's going on?" Hiccup asked quietly, hiding any bit of fear he may or may not have felt at the moment. When the white haired spirit didn't answer, he huffed. "Jack-!"

"Shh. He could pop out at any moment." Jack whispered back harshly. His blue eyes were darting back and forth between the shadows and wouldn't dare blink for fear of missing an attack. He slowly inched his bare feet towards Hiccup, who seemed to be stuck on the bed. Toothless growled and snapped at the shadows with his (bared) teeth, and swished his tail angrily as Pitch's voice suddenly echoed around them in a confusing haze, to hide where he was.

_"You really think that you can save everyone Jack? The whole world? You're alone… you can't do anything. You were never any good." _Pitch said nonchalantly. Hiccup looked around, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. How was a shadow talking?

"I saved the world from you once Pitch, I'm not afraid to do it again. I don't fear you." Jack growled back. "And I'm not alone." He pointed out, backing closer to Hiccup, foot touching Hiccup's false leg on accident. "I have Rapunzel and Hiccup, and not to mention Toothless."

_"Oh, so these two- these __**children- **__not to mention the giant lizard, you expect them to be able to help? I know what you're thinking Jack. They're worthless. They can't fight; they can't even talk to Man in the Moon. They can't do anything like we can. The girl can't even fix a little bruise!" _Hiccup looked at Jack with a bit of shock. What did he mean by that? "_They're just normal kids. You might as well give up now Jack. Surrender to me. "_ Pitch's laughter echoed around the room terribly, making Hiccup's stomach drop. Did Jack really think that? That he and Rapunzel were-

"The time I surrender is the time I'm dead Pitch. I'm not alone. They are not worthless. But nice try. True they're nothing like us, and for that I couldn't be more thankful." Jack shouted, glaring daggers at the ceiling. "It would take away all of the fun." Jack said, a merciless grin on his face.

"_Ah, always that Jack. It's always about fun, isn't it?" _

"I'm the Guardian of Fun."

Suddenly, he turned around and pointed his staff at Hiccup, and released a large blast of ice that exploded all over, hitting the Viking head on with neck-breaking force. Hiccup sat frozen for a moment, and then toppled over, eyes fluttering shut as he went.

Toothless yelped and tackled the winter spirit to the ground angrily, unsheathing his claws and preparing to rip his hair right out of his skull. Jack threw his hands up, blocking his face while shouting "Wait, wait, WAIT!" Toothless paused, giving him only seconds to explain himself. "Look-!"

Toothless turned around, and saw- not his beloved Hiccup- but a pile of frozen, black sand, lying on the floor. Toothless growled in confusion, and approached the fallen pile, nudging it with his front leg,

"See? It's not Hiccup… I'm not sure when, but I think when he threw that sand at us in the beginning, he was just blocking our vision long enough to switch the real one with his impersonation… a trap." Jack explained, crouching down next to the dragon and picking up some of the sand, to let it fall back into the small mound. Which means, Hiccup is…" He thought for a moment. There was no way Pitch had enough time to take Hiccup anywhere outside of the room in that small frame of- what? Three seconds? "Toothy, go look under that bed. I'll clean this out."

Toothless nodded and flew over to the window and disappeared inside. With an easy swipe of his nose, he moved the blankets off so that he could see under the bed.

Sure enough, Hiccup was lying there, bound by small, black ropes. Toothless assumed that it was made of the enemy's sand. Grasping him gently by the scruff of his fur (his vest), toothless pulled Hiccup out from under the bed. He jumped up onto the bed, and carefully, as if handling a hatchling- pulled him out of the window and then jumping down to where Jack was.

"Thought so." Jack said, coming up behind him. "Oh- let me just," touching the black ropes with his staff; the sand froze and instantly disintegrated off of Hiccup's wrists.

"Thanks." Hiccup groaned, rubbing his sore wrists and stretching his fingers. "Oww, I hit my head."

"Look out!" A voice yelped from behind them. Jack whipped around just in time to meet the top of Pitch's scythe, barley being clipped on the shoulder. He stumbled back a bit, but aimed his staff and shot off a blast of icy blue light.

An arrow flew through the air and through the barrage of ice, slamming right into Pitch. The Nightmare king screeched- and Jack automatically knew it was a duplicate- and disintegrated into a thousand tiny particles of sand.

Hiccup (the real one) and Jack took a moment to catch the breath that they hadn't realized had been lost. Then they turned to the doorway of the Castle to see who had shot at the shadow man.

Merida stood in the doorway, chest heaving with lack of breath and hair in its normal disarray. She had a bow held out in one hand, while the other was still in a position where it had just let loose the arrow. Her face was a mixture of confusion and determination- two emotions that hadn't really been mixed together all that often.

The three held eye contact for a moment, then they all frowned, and Merida dropped her bow.

"What on EARTH is going on here?" She asked, exasperation in her every syllable. "One minute yer not there, and then ye are! An' wha's with the magic staff! And WHO was tha'?" She demanded, storming over to where the two were. "An' if that beast of yers tears up any of the tapestries here there'll be-!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Slow down." Hiccup said as soothingly as he could under the circumstances. (his throat and mouth were still dry from the sand)"Toothless doesn't hurt anyone or anything unless given a reason to, and as for Jack… let's just say he's the same I guess." Hiccup said, standing in front of Jack before he could say anything.

"And you! Why did ya keep pulling my hair all night! Ya nearly drove me mad!" Merida said, shaking her bow at Jack, to which he was surprised really. After all that she had just seen- Pitch, him, a dragon, fighting Pitch with the said dragon and he himself- she was worried about the hair thing?!

"I was just getting that big rat's nest out of it!" He explained. "I just- I know a girl who hates it when she has tangles in her hair, so I fixed it! But you kept moving around and whipping your head so much that it felt like I was pulling it!"

Merida was still for a moment, digesting the words. Then scoffed.

"Whatever. Now would you care to explain what on earth is going on? Who was that? And what are ya?" She demanded. Hiccup and Jack looked at each other for a moment, and then sighed in unison.

"Well, I want to go check on Punzie real quick, make sure Pitch isn't there. Then we can talk. Alright?" Jack said, standing up and going to the window. He unlatched it and jumped out.

"Wait- she's up three-!" She tried to stop him, but was shocked when she saw him fly right up to the window down the way. "Stories high…" She said in amazement. She turned to Hiccup. "How did he do that?"

"Well I-"

"No really! How?"

"I really don't-"

"He flew!"

"I have no idea!" Hiccup finally got out. "He just… does. I really have about as much of a clue as to what's going on as you do. Jack is the only one who knows for sure, but he hasn't had the chance…" Hiccup swallowed his doubts about the winter spirit that Pitch had brought to light. "To explain. We've kind of been on the run since we left my place… and then we ran into you."

Merida contemplated this for a moment, sitting on the edge of the bed and rubbing her temples in frustration. "Alright then, but he had better explain _everything._ I don't want any games here and I don't need any more dramatic encounters with magic again in my life."

"Trust me, it's a little late for that now."

Jack returned quickly, coming back in through the window. Hiccup looked at him expectantly,

"She's fine. Fast asleep actually, and no nightmares. I woke her up though, and she'll be here in a sec." He said with a sigh, sitting down on the windowsill. He then turned to Merida. His eyes looked straight into hers and he smiled.

"Sooooo- I'm Jack Frost. Guardian of Fun." He held out his hand. Merida stared at it for a moment before she took it, and was surprised (or maybe not) to find that he was icy cold to the touch.

"I'm Merida, Princess of Don Broch'." She answered slowly.

"Great. Now that we're officially met, let's get to it."

"Explain then, what's going on." At that moment, the door creaked open and the blonde princess stepped in, closing the door quickly behind her. She rushed over to Hiccup and started to look him over immediately, to Jack's amusement.

"Jack told me what happened! Are you hurt? Are you alright? Did he wound you like Jack at all?"

"Wounded?" Merida (and Hiccup) looked at Jack, who shook his head.

"I'm fine Rapunzel. Just some bruises."

"Oh that's a relief."

"So anyway… back to what we were sayin'." Merida said, looking at Jack. "What's goin on here?"

Jack sighed and leaned back into the window, resting his head against it so he was looking up.

"Alright. I'll give you a basic rundown.

You've all already met Pitch. As I told Punzie before, he's the sort of "King of nightmares."" He used his hands to create air quotes around the title. "But that black sand he has is actually what creates bad dreams and doubt and stuff. He tried to take over before, but in my time that was about 3 years ago. But we- as in me and the other Guardians- defeated him. His own nightmares turned against him.

But now he's back, trying to take over before- I'm guessing- we exist. His threat is spread across about four or five generations right now, and that's why were so spread apart at the moment. It's my- and now yours because you're chosen- job to fight Pitch and make everything normal again." He finished with a small swing of his staff. "Does that make sense?"

"I suppose in a general sense…" Rapunzel said. "But why us?"

Jack frowned. "Well- I can't give you a straight answer. But the man in the Moon always has a reason. If there's anything I believe- it's that."

"Alright. What? Man in the Moon?" Merida asked, folding her arms in disbelief.

"Well, I call him M&M, but he hates that nickname."

"That's not what she meant Jack." Hiccup said, rubbing the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"Well- Man in the Moon is sort of a Guardian of Guardians." Jack said. "I'm a guardian along with four others."

"And what do you guard exactly?" Merida asked.

"Children mostly. But occasionally there's an adult or two who need help. Like now." Jack said, casually getting up from the sill.

"Jack- Pitch said some strange things about you." Hiccup said slowly, looking up at the white haired spirit.

"Oh? Like what? That I wasn't real? He pulls that a lot."

"Well yes, and I didn't believe him on that, but I realized that I- we don't know anything about… well… _you._" Hiccup said, wringing his hands and looking down at the floor. "I trust you, but it's getting harder to do that when I don't even know you, you know?"

Jack thought about this for a moment, looking at Rapunzel and Merida, who seemed to agree with Hiccup fully on the matter. Their expressions said so. He sat on the opposite side of the room against the wall.

"Alright then."

"What? Alright what?" Rapunzel asked.

"Ask away. Of course, I kind of want to know more about you too. We are sort of a team now, I guess." He said. "But your right, I sort of dragged you into this and I haven't told you much. We have a chance, ask away."

Rapunzel took right up on that.

"Were you born with that sort of hair? Is it natural? Because it's so white! And I've never seen anything like it!"

"Uh- well No. I was born with brown hair if I remember right." He said, running a hand subconsciously through his locks. "And my eyes were brown too."

"Wow! So you grew out of it? That's amazing!" Rapunzel said excitedly. "Do you have any family? Siblings? Oh! Any pets?"

"Ahaha, well, I did have a sister once. But that was a long time ago, no pets though."

Hiccup wondered about whether he should ask what he wanted… but decided he would anyway, once Rapunzel calmed a bit.

After answering a dozen or so questions from the Lost Princess, Hiccup asked. "Jack- How old are you?" Jack was silent for a moment, while Rapunzel started guessing his age. Merida seemed confused by the question, wondering what sort of significance it had to anything going on.

"Ummm, well it's a loooong story." Jack said. "But you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"No really- I shouldn't-"

"_Jack._"

The said spirit sighed, looked up and closed his eyes.

"Three hundred and twenty one. Going on Three hundred and twenty three come December." He said quickly.

Silence. If a flake of snow had fallen, one would have heard it in that moment. The three mortals stared at Jack with looks of awe and disbelief.

Merida wondered though, the witch in that cabin had obviously been very old. She had known the kings that had fallen and Mor'du personally. So she must have been at least two hundred or so. But she was so old looking and quite frightening. Jack looked to be only about her age, give or take, despite his white hair.

Suddenly she remembered her dream. And standing on that lake. The moon- it must have meant something to do with Man in Moon or whatever he was called. The voice that had told her everything would be okay…

_That was Jack's voice._

"Jack… are you livin'?" She asked. Jack looked at her with surprise.

"What?"

"I… does a frozen lake… mean anythin' to ya?" She asked, wondering if she was right about this. "And… the words "Don't look down, look at me" mean anythin' to ya?" She automatically knew they did when he looked like a cornered deer in a hunt. His eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly hung open. "When did ya say em?"

"I- how?"

"A dream Jack." She said. "When you woke me up in the hallway. I was havin' a dream, I think, about yer past or some sort of thing like that. I was standin' on a lake. And I heard someone- you I suppose- tellin' me to look at 'em. I woke up after that."

Jack looked distant for only a second, then he looked up at her. "Those are some of the last words I ever said to my little sister. Before I-"

"Died." A voice said from the doorway. All heads looked up to see and old woman standing in the doorway. She had a terribly wrinkled face and larger nose. Her slack jaw was set in a grimace and she had an old knobby walking stick held tightly in equally knobby hands. "You're a spirit. Am I correct?"

"Uh- I- well- Yeah. Yeah I guess so."

"You're the most solid spirit I've ever encountered." She said, hobbling over to where Jack was sitting. She wasn't looking at him at all, oddly enough. She did, however seem to know he was there.

"_What are you doing here?" _Merida gaped. Of all people, her, that witch, was the one who knew about this stuff? Of course, it sort of made sense. She was a witch and was who knew how old, so perhaps in the end it all added up. But did that mean-

"You can see me?"

"I can't see anything I'm afraid. I can only hear you, very vaguely. I shouldn't even be able to do that. I have only ever sensed presences of spirits, but you're almost palpable." She said, examining the air right above where Jack was sitting. She swung her knobby staff around and bopped Jack right over the head with it with a loud "THONK".

"OW! What the-?" Jack said, shielding himself from the mad woman's staff. "Don't hit me!"

"Hmm. There you are." She said. "What is your title."

"Title?"

"She means yer name." Merida said with a snort.

"Oh- Jack." Jack said, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Jack Frost."

"Frost? So yer a winter spirit. Rare those. I've only heard of yer kind. But yer a tainted spirit. What're ya doin', helping people?"

"Tainted?" Hiccup asked, sitting up straight at this bit of information. "What does that mean? He's… dirty?"

"No you idiot!" The witch whacked Jack upside the head again, resulting in a yelp and cringe from the poor spirit.

"What did I do?!" He whined, scooting away from the short, madwoman.

"Oh shush you. I could exorcise you on the spot." She said with a scoff.

"Exorcise me?!"

"Y'know, some sort of witty spell that makes you go 'poof'?" Merida added in, laughing slightly. "Is that all it takes ta get rid of 'im?" She asked the witch. She seemed to be enjoying Jack's horror at the thought of being exorcised on the spot.

"You sush too." The witch swished her staff at Jack again, but missed because of his quick dodge. "Any spirit can be exorcised as long as you know the spell." Merida almost said something, but was cut off. "And I aint selling any more spells to ya wee lassie. I can't afford any more trouble from you."

"Why are you here, miss?" Rapunzel asked, a small, polite smile on her lips. But her green eyes were full of confusion. "And how do you know all of this?"

"When yer as old as me, ye just know these things." She scoffed. "I know that yer from a different time. I know that yer of the first boys ta ride dragons before they died off. I know that yer tryin ta fight the man of fright. I know that ya aint lyin when ya say yer as old as ya are. I know that ya have magic qualities in yer hair, power granted by the sun. I know this because I have seen it. And if ya weren't so worried about yerselves, ye'd realized how much trouble we're all in unless ye get off yer sorry tuckuses and do somethin' about it!" the old woman's voice escalated in anger as she went. All four stared at her, and toothless cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"What? We just fought off Pitch, and I was answering some questions for these guys. I was gonna talk to M&M later."

"Which is why you're not getting anything done. Ya need ta act before things can happen, not wait till it's dark! Besides, there is no moon tonight!"

"What? Oh no, she's right." Jack moaned, putting his face in his hands.

"Of course I'm right!" She shouted, lifting her hands up. Jack jumped as lighting flashed across the sky and rain instantly started to fall harshly against them. "Now get!"

A flash and everything went black.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hiya! Just wanted to thank you for stickin' around! only a few more chapters and the story should be complete. :D Drop a review! (I know it's a bit tedious, but hey! It's just a friendly reminder to me that people are actually reading and that my work is worth it! That's why I leave reviews anyway.) See ya~! Enjoy. **

The darkness around her was somehow both peaceful and annoying. She could hear something next to her, but nothing at the same time. It was more like she could sense that something was there. But then a voice started filling her head.

_"This is the third time I've been knocked unconscious within a day! If I get hit over the head one more time…" _

"J-Jack? Is that you?" She groaned and turned over, trying to alleviate the small headache that was starting to build in the back of her head. Slowly opening her eyes, cerulean blue pools met icy blue as Merida and Jack made eye contact.

"Well, good morning sunshine." He said sarcastically, holding out a hand to pull her up. She glared at it for a moment, but then accepted and let him yank her up to her feet. Looking around, she recognized absolutely nothing of her surroundings. A giant lake rested next to them, while Hiccup, the dragon, and Rapunzel still slept on the mossy ground. It was relatively warm, but signs that an early winter were coming showed everywhere. No birds were around to sing their tunes, and there were small bits of frost in the water.

"Where are we?" She asked, looking around. Jack examined it as well, and his jaw went a little slack for a moment before he turned back to Merida.

"Welcome to Lake Burgess. This is where I live." He said slowly, as if not believing it himself.

"Really? It's quite…. Well…." Merida wasn't sure what to say to that. "Let's wake these two up. Then we can figure out wha's goin' on." She said with a frown. Jack nodded.

"You do that, I'll take a quick scout around to make sure we're in the right time period."

"What? What is that suppose' ta mean?!"

"We've traveled… whether in time or not, I'm not sure. So I'm gonna fly up and see if the town I know is there, and if it isn't… We're gonna be a little lost."

Merida nodded slowly, trying to wrap her head around what was being said. She watched (in hidden amazement) as he flew up, holding tightly to his wooden staff. Turning to the others, she shook the Blonde's shoulder first.

"Oi- wake up. Yer layin' in the middle of a forest. Get up."

"Uhhh" Rapunzel groaned, sitting up slowly. She blinked her eyes opened slowly, green orbs adjusting to the light. Gasping, she leaned over and shook Hiccup awake, until he sat up in delusional panic.

"Where are we?" He asked, looking around in panic. (Apparently he didn't wake well)

"Well, we're in my time." Jack said from above, making the three look up to see him landing softly on the mossy ground next to them. "This is Burgess. My home town- sorta."

"Wha' do ya mean 'sort of'?" Merida asked, checking her hip to make sure that her bundle of arrows was still hanging there, which it was. She slung her bow over her chest and shoulders, then crossed her arms, waiting for an answer.

"Well, this is where I've been for the last- ahem…" he took an uncomfortable look around- "three hundred years. But! Lucky for us, I can get us some more help by this evening, as long as either Sandy or one of the Tooth fairies come around. Which should be pretty quick, because it's pretty late. See? The sun's already going down."

Rapunzel nodded and then sneezed, a slight shiver wracking her body. Hiccup looked at her with concern.

"Are you cold?" Jack asked, looking at her quizzically. Sometimes he forgot that people could do that.

"Uh- just a little."

"Well ya said there was a town just up here didncha?" Merida said, marching forward. "We can just take shelter somewhere."

"Good idea." Hiccup nodded, following her along with Toothless, whom he had managed to awaken. Rapunzel nodded as well and followed suit.

"Ah!- Guys I dunno if that's a good-" Jack suddenly realized that he hadn't told them-!

"What in the name of Odin…?" Hiccup's surprised voice echoed around the forested area.

"Idea…" Jack groaned.

Flitting forward, he found his friends at the edge of a paved road, and cars racing by. The park over by Jamie's house was full of kids, while their parents called for them to come along to go home. Headlights were flickered on as the light of the sun began to disappear and lights in houses came on as well.

"What is this?!" Rapunzel asked in amazement, stepping forward. Jack, wide-eyed, quickly grasped her arm and yanked her back just before a pick-up truck could ram into her. Panting in slight panic, he helped her upright.

"Uhm… well. Welcome to the future." Jack said, an awkward grin spreading on his features.

"The… future?"

"Well yeah- Uhhh… this is the year 2015." Jack said with a flourish of his staff, as if bowing. "So if we're technically speaking, you're the same age as I am here."

"What?!" Hiccup asked, looking at the winter spirit. "What? Oh Gods… what are those metal box things?!"

"Oh- those are cars… they're like… motor powered transportation. They sort of replaced… horses and stuff."

"They don' ride horses?!" Merida cried.

"Well- some of em do! Just not here much. North has got reindeer though. And they still love them in the western areas of here…" Rapunzel and Merida sneezed this time around. Jack looked around and focused his vision on the electric thermometer inside one of the cars and read 33 degrees F. It was just above freezing. He was a little surprised to see that Hiccup didn't seem all too affected at all.

"Alright, you guys go get warm by the lake as best you can, I'll go see if I can get some blankets or something. If I'm not back by sundown, watch for glowing gold sand in the sky." Jack said, taking off. "And don't try and cross the road!"

Jack came back from Jamie's house, with a borrowed blanket and an old, pink, coat that he thought might fit Rapunzel. Jamie had said they were going to throw them out anyway, so he could have them, although he had seemed amused that Jack Frost would need a coat.

Rapunzel, Merida and Toothless were all huddled around a fire that seemed to have been lit by the said Dragon, while Hiccup was sitting on watch just next to them. It was dark outside by then. He stood up as soon as he saw Jack. The closer the spirit got, the more it looked like the girls and dragon were fast asleep.

"Thank heaven your back." He sighed. "We haven't seen any gold sand though. What is it supposed to look like anyway?" He watched as Jack draped the blanket and coat over the two girls who were still shivering slightly. And Jack was positive that it had dropped far below freezing by then.

Jack thought for a moment. "Well you know, Pitch's sand? It's sort of the exact opposite of that. It's actually called dream sand." Jack explained. "Sorry it took me so long. I got this though." He held up the two articles of cloth. "They should do until we go to the north pole."

"The north Pole?" Hiccup asked with an incredulous look. Jack only nodded, sitting down on a rock. Hiccup sat next to him. "So… how… when- when did things change so much? I mean, those _cars _ and the strange cement thing you called a road?" Jack sighed.

"Well they started on cars a while back… pavement, as the strange cement thing is called, kinda came along a bit after I died. Fifty years I would guess? I didn't really pay that much attention as to when it all happened. Besides, it's a lot to remember." He added as an afterthought. "I don't even remember my own birthday. I've always just marked it as the first of December."

"The first of what?"

"Uh- the last moon cycle of the year. The coldest one?"

"Oh. Makes sense I guess." Hiccup nodded. "being who you are I mean. But… how did you… you know…"

"Die?" Jack finished for him. Hiccup nodded. Jack leaned back, resting on his arms. "Well… this lake right here is where it happened." He started, pointing at the water that was slowly freezing in front of them. Hiccup's eyes went wider in surprise. "The lake was totally frozen over… and remember I mentioned a sister? Well she wanted to go ice skating. And we went, and were skating for a little bit, until she reached the center of the lake. The ice wasn't thick enough there, and I tried to get over to help her and ended up on the ice too. So I got this stick…" he held up his staff thoughtfully, looking at it for a moment before going on. "and I used it to get her off of the thin ice. And… I fell in."

Hiccup stared at the man next to him, a whole new perspective filling his view. He had never expected the winter spirit to have died saving someone. Of course, he hadn't known enough about him to even guess what had happened.

"And what about you?" Jack asked. Hiccup gave him a quizzical look, silently asking him what he meant. "Your leg. How did you lose it?"

"Oh- haha, well I found toothless-"

"And he bit your leg off?!" Jack asked, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Ahaha-no! Not really… but I found him… or more like shot him down. I found him later in the forest, and his tail fin had been shot off. I was planning to kill him actually, but I ended up freeing him instead. We became friends over a period of time… by my ultimately betraying my entire village and it's people. But I don't regret it. Uhm… then me and Astrid, the blonde girl? We went for a flight… and found the dragon's nest… and then my dad sort of _found out _ and sort of went to destroy it. Then I got the other people my age to join us and fight the giant dragon that we sort of dubbed the _green death. _Toothless and I fought it, won, but his fake tail fell off and we fell into the explosion. So Toothless grabbed me and protected me. But my leg…"

"Wow." Jack said with wide eyes. "I had absolutely no idea."

"Well none of us do really. I'm sure that those two have some good stories about themselves too. I mean- _magic hair?_" Hiccup pointed out. Both boys laughed, throwing their heads back in sincere jolly. And as they opened their eyes, tendrils of sand started to seep from the sky.

"That's our man." Jack said, standing up. Jumping up at an incredible height to just let his hand run through the sand. Hiccup laughed a little as dolphins jumped out from where he had touched it. It was almost… funny how such a man would be so happy to see the strange fish flying about him. But the grin that split his face was just too happy to not be contagious.

Jack landed again and stood next to Hiccup. "Well Sandy'll be here any second. He always knows where someone's messed with his sand." He explained. "Let's wake those two up." Hiccup nodded and trotted forward, tapping Toothless on the shoulder, where he sat up and frowned, making a strange purring noise.

"Wake up bud. It's time to meet new friends." He said. Toothless nodded and yawned, large maw widening with its gumless fury. His yellow eyes closed in a sleepy blink, and he licked Rapunzel upside the head. She sat up with a surprised gasp, which made Merida do the same beside her.

"Oh you're up." Jack said with a grin. "About time."

"Wha- wha's goin on?" Merida grumbled. "Wha-?"

"Sandy's on his way. Get on up, so we can get out of here faster." Jack said with a familiar grin. "He's only seconds awa-ah!" Just as he said that, a large ball of golden glow collided with him and nearly knocked him over. Jack straightened out to reveal that a little, golden man was clinging to his chest in a tight embrace. "Sandy! Woah- slow down there!" Jack said, spinning the winter spirit around as if he hadn't seen him in years.

The golden man pulled away, revealing his features to the others. He was short, as obviously observed. His golden hair spiked up in a sandy glow, while his round face sported a round nose and round golden eyes. He was clothed as if wearing a golden robe that twisted to his form.

Small sandy symbols formed and disappeared above his head flashing faster than the actual pictures could register. Merida, Hiccup, and Rapunzel all stared in disbelief, wondering what on earth was going on. Jack however, seemed to know.

"yeah- so how long was I really gone?- a month?!" He seemed almost panicked on this. "But tha- I was only gone a day- and a half really." He told the little man with confusion. More images flashed above his head. "Oh- right." He turned to the others. "Guys, this is sandman. Bringer of dreams. Sandman, this is Rapunzel, Hiccup, Merida… and Toothless." He told him. Sandman made a small hat appear above his head and tipped it with a small bow.

"Nice to meet you." Rapunzel said with a smile. "I'm Rapunzel! So you're Sandman! Jack's talked about you!" Sandman looked at Jack with an incredulous look.

"I didn't say anything bad! There's nothing bad to say!" He said with a laugh. "So sandy, can we somehow get a ride to the North Pole for these guys? I would've taken them, but they'd have frozen to death." Sandman nodded happily, and shot a large bundle of sandy fireworks into the sky. Everyone stared up at them, light flashing in their eyes from the sparkling sand.

"Wow, never seen anythin' like that before." Merida said with some slight impression.

"Not many people have." Jack nodded. "It's awesome." He grinned at Sandman, who just smiled.

Suddenly a hole sprouted in the ground next to Jacks feet. Jumping away, everyone stared as two giant ears popped out of the ground, twitching back and forth before a giant head followed. The kangaroo-sized rabbit hopped out of the hole and stood tall and proud before it saw Jack.

"Frostbite! You're back! So that's why ya called me here ya Gumby!" The giant rabbit said loudly as he grabbed Jack in a choke hold and ground his fist into his head. "When'dja get back?"

"Just a couple hours ago! Stop it!" Jack laughed, pulling away from the giant furball. "Ya missed me that much?" He asked with a laugh. The Rabbit frowned.

"Yeah right!" he said definitely. "Tooth and North were havin' fits within the first week though. Ya hadn't showed up or given any sign yer alright!" He said.

"Well, you know, I went back in time by about five hundred years. Here we have, Hiccup, he's a Viking… oh and his dragon. Toothless. Then we have Rapunzel, Princess of a kingdom… I'm guessing in Germany or something. Uhm- and this is Merida. Princess from Scotland."

"Scotland?" He asked. "Nice. I'm Bunnymund. The Easter bunny." He held out his hand for a shake. The three looked between each other before Hiccup reached up and took the furry hand.

"Nice- to meet you… sir." Hiccup said. "I'm Hiccup…" Toothless nudged his leg. "Oh, and Toothless."

"Toothless?" Bunny snorted. "What a name for a dragon."

"That's what I said, but he really is. He has retractable teeth!" Jack said enthusiastically. "Anyway, can we get a lift to the North Pole? I would have flown them… but…"

"Ya would've frozen them to death. Good thinkin' Frostbite. Yeah, let's get them to a warmer place. Which is ironic if ya ask me." The giant rabbit said. "Come on." He tapped his foot on the floor twice and another hole opened up. "Hop on in."

Hiccup looked over at Jack, who nodded in encouragement. Merida gave him a signal that he could go first. "Aw. Buck up!" And with that, Bunnymund pushed the boy forward. With an ungraceful "AHHH!" Hiccup fell forward and into the hole. Rapunzel fell forward as well when she had leaned over to look down into it. Merida rolled her eyes and jumped down as well, followed closely by Toothless.

"Ya comin' Frostbite?" Bunnymund asked over the shouts and screams of his fellow friends.

"Ahaha, no. I'll be flying by myself." Jack said, getting ready to take off. Sandy looked at him in agreement.

"Ah- ya big baby." Bunny grabbed Jack by his hood and tossed him in.

"Jack Frost! You're back!" A booming voice echoed around the pile of people that had just flown out of a hole that had magically appeared in the wall. Heavy footfalls crossed the room until the owners reached the pile and lifted Jack right out of it, and crushed him in a hug.

"Ow, ow, ow North!" Jack laughed, trying to escape. "Yeah I'm back! Ow!"

"Where have you been?!" North asked, pulling away and shaking him by the shoulders. "We waited for you for a whole week! And then a month! Why were you so long?"

"Sorry! As far as I'm concerned, I was only gone for a day and a half. That's what it felt like to me. But I guess the time travel really made time travel." He shrugged.

"I couldn't really say it quite the same. But no matter! You are back and that is that! And who are these… new recruits?" He asked, patting Jack on the back so hard that he nearly fell over.

"Ah- I'm Hiccup, and this is Toothless. Uahm… this is Rapunzel and Merida." The Viking said slowly, hoping he didn't sound as nervous as he felt.

"Aha!" North said, slapping him on the back. "Hiccup! The little dragon boy from Berk, you always wanted gears! And fish! It always made my sleigh smell a little strange… And Merida, you're the little one who got a bundle of arrows every year! And Rapunzel! You loved your paints!" North hugged each of the three as he talked to them, crushing them against his chest with his strong arms. "All very good children!"

"Oh! You're saint Nicolas! He delivers presents to kids on Christmas!" Rapunzel suddenly realized. "Wow! You remember us…?"

"Of course! I remember every child." North said. "And please call me North."

"Saint what? Christmas?" Hiccup asked, looking at her. "What?" Toothless looked just as confused.

"In your town, they called it something strange… ah. Snoggletog or something like that." North said with a grin. "Interesting name if you ask me. But it is still the same idea." North shrugged. "It is so good to meet you in person~!"

"Wait- you're Odin?!"

"Whaa-? No- well- yes. From your perspective I suppose I am." North shrugged again. "But no matter! Now we can get down to what matters here! How did you get back? Was it Mim?"

"Ah- no actually. It was some sort of witch from her time." Jack said, pointing at Merida, who was still in awe that Saint Nicolas was real.

"I see. Well, are you hungry? You look terrible Jack." North said. "You should go rest."

"Nah, I'm fine. These three might want some food though… and fish." He gave North a mischievous smirk, but North knew what it meant. He wanted to talk to North. Alone.

"Phil just put a roast in the oven! It should be ready in no time." North said. "Phil!" The said Yeti shouted back in a garbled language that no one but Jack and North understood. "Take these- four to the kitchen! Jack and I will join you shortly." He said. Phil nodded and started to lead the others away, making them look nervous about being alone with the giant Yeti.

Once they were gone, North, Bunny and Sandman turned to Jack. "What's wrong mate? Ya've never passed up a chance ta wreck the kitchen." Bunnymund crossed his arms over his chest. Jack laughed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck.

How to put it…


	11. Chapter 11

"So- uhm… you remember that arrow… that got Sandy last time we fought Pitch?" He asked, wondering how they would take it.

But the answer was instantly given. Instantly, all three sets of eyes were wide, and all three were speaking in their unique fashions. Sandy symbols flashed all over the place, an Australian and a Russian accent were barraging him, and large hands were shaking him back and forth, all signs demanding him for answers.

"Woah, woah, woah! Lemme get it all out first! Jeez!" Jack said, pulling away slightly. "Pitch shot me. But it didn't spread like it did in sandman for some reason." He explained, sitting on the plush couch that was seated in front of the fire. "Rapunzel used her- magic- to heal me and I thought I was fine. But now it's back…"

"And it's spreading." North said with a deep frown. "How long ago?"

"Almost twelve hours I think. But it even slowed me down in our last fight. I didn't tell the others- well I kind of talked to Rapunzel, but she's just as clueless about it as the others. I mean- I've hardly spoke three words to Merida… and Hiccup… he knows something. But he hasn't said anything."

"How could it be spreading though, mate? I mean, no offense intended, but ya don't exactly 'ave a pumpin' beater." Bunny said. "Last time it was 'cuz Sandy was made of sand an' it could spread real easy. But you- you're solid."

"That's the thing. I have no idea. But I was hoping we could take it up with M&M to see what is going on. But it was a new moon in the last place I was, and I couldn't do it." Sandy nodded, and a few symbols passed over his head. Jack, him, a stream of sand.

"That could be a good idea." North nodded. "Jack, Sandy could try to pull the sand from you. Or cancel it out with his own."

"Sounds… fun." Jack said warily.

"Beggers can't be choosers Frostbite." Bunny said. "I'll- uh- go check on the others. See if Tooth's showin up yet. I sent a message to her." He explained. The other three nodded, and watched him bound off in the direction of the kitchen.

"Hm. Well- Sandy?" North turned to the smaller man, who nodded and closed his eyes in concentration. A small stream of golden sand started trailing its way towards the winter spirit, and slipped into his slightly opened mouth. Jack fought down a small choking sound of discomfort as the sand made its way down his throat.

Suddenly a sharp pain erupted in Jack's chest, causing him to tumble back in the chair again. North tried to pat his shoulder in comfort, but it did nothing to alleviate the shockwaves. Jack had certainly never felt quite this kind of pain before. It was as if a small war was being fought within his chest, right where his heart should be resting. And after a moment, Jack realized that was exactly what it was.

The golden sand fought with the dark within him, and apparently was winning the fierce battle. After a few more moments, black sand started to push its way out of Jack's mouth. A strange feeling- like when one accidentally swallows a string and pulls it out by the end.

With a final cough and sputter, the gold and black sand finally fell out and dissipated around them. Both Jack and Sandman slumped for a moment against the arm of the chair and took their time pulling themselves back together.

"Well… that was fascinating." North said with wide eyes and a straight face. "Well done Sandy! Jack? Do you feel any better?"

"Yeah- My throat's dry… but other than that, I feel great." Jack nodded, looking up at the Guardian of Wonder. "Sandy? You okay?"

Sandy nodded enthusiastically, little symbols flashing above his head in rapid succession.

"Well that battles over! Let's go eat!" North cheered, leading the two towards the kitchen. "We must talk strategy."

"Yeah." Jack grinned his usual, trouble making grin.

Just then, Tooth flew in through the window. Eyes wide, feathers ruffled, she flitted about.

"Jack, where's Jack? OH! Jack, you're back! Where have you been! Do you have any idea how worried we were?! You were gone for so long, and I thought the worst! Oh come here!" She spoke faster than ever as she crushed Jack into a hug. Making eye contact with the other two, they all silently agreed not to tell Tooth about the sand. Best left unsaid.

"No, no, no. I can't really agree with that- what if Pitch finds you?"

"Well isn't that the point? The goal- if I've seen enough to guess what it is- is to get rid of this Pitch character. If we can't even face him up front, what's the point?" Hiccup retorted to North's objection flawlessly. Jack found that he was growing to like these three a lot better than he had before.

"'e's right y'know." Merida agreed. "But th' real question is: how exactly do we face 'im? I might be th' newest 'ere, but I can tell this Pitch aint nothin' ta mess with unless yer prepared."

"She's right mate." Bunnymund said. "You know what? Let's train em. I mean, ya can't fight someone with a team unless ya know how ta work together. Am I right?"

"Yes." Toothania said with a nod.

Jack sat back on the beam up in the ceiling, watching all of this pass below. He knew that the moon had kind of put him in charge of the whole mission, but he wanted to see how these guys reacted to each other. And he wanted to wait for the perfect moment to say something, because due to his nature of being a sort of goof-off, he wanted to be taken seriously. There was no question that he knew what he was doing, it was just a question of when he was actually being… well serious.

He wasn't the Guardian of Fun for nothing!

"That's right. Well, I do wonder about something else though." North said, leaning back in his gigantic chair.

"What's that North?" Bunnymund asked, while Sandman had a small, floating question mark over his golden head.

"Why were you three targeted? I mean, there are billions of children in your times. I would know, so why would he go after you- teenagers who no longer really believe in, well, us? You didn't have ties to any of us either, and that only changed when you met Jack."

Silence for a moment. A long moment really. That was a very good point that none of them had really questioned until then. Why were they targeted?

"Maybe he's after leadership figures?" Hiccup asked. "I mean- Merida and Rapunzel are both princesses, and Rapunzel's going to be a queen soon… I'm kind of the next in line to be chief in my village." The other two visitors nodded in agreement, sipping their mugs of chocolate.

"I do not think so." North said, lacing his fingers together. "Pitch is too crafty for such a thing. Man In Moon would have had us resolve this back then, in our own present time if that were it. And seeing that he got Jack directly involved… it irks me. I do not understand why he is going after you. I do not see how hurting you would hurt everything."

Jack snapped his head up. Eyes wide, he jumped down, landing right next to Hiccup, making him jump about three feet out of his chair, causing Toothless to growl.

"That's it. It would hurt everything." Jack said. "Think about it!" He pointed his staff into Hiccup's face. "Hic's gonna be the next leader of the little village, Berk or somthin. Punzie's gonna be the queen of the lost kingdom… and Merry-go-round-"

"MERIDA."

"Is gonna be the next leader of her clan Dun who-ha."

"Dun Broch!"

"Gesundheit. Anyways, if these guys are the next leaders- I can only assume that they are going to mean a lot to the history of this world!"

"What are you sayin' Frostbite?" Bunnymund asked.

"What's the opposite of fear?" Silence as they waited. "Hope! Hope is the opposite, and if these guys, these leaders are the targets of fear, it's pretty easy to guess that these three, these teenagers, are the center of a lot of hope. They create hope in many people, they're… they- they're sort of already guardians. But on a more… human level. You know? These three are the difference between Pitch winning or losing in the dark ages! That's why he wants them dead! That's why they were targeted!"

There was silence for another moment. A moment that felt like hours as the occupants of the room as the information sunk in. Merida, Rapunzel and Hiccup looked at each other with wide eyes and a sudden burden on their shoulders.

"Yeah. No pressure or anything." Hiccup breathed, looking down at Toothless, who made a small purring sound in response as if to comfort his rider.

**"How surprising, that Jack was the first to get it. But it appears as though my arrow didn't have any affect. How disappointing." ** The voice that suddenly filled the air was unmistakable. All of the figures jumped to their feet, instantly battle ready. Sandy had out golden whip-like tools, while Tooth had fists out and North had his sabers pointed out. Bunnymund whipped out his boomerangs faster than a blink, while Merida had her arrow knocked and aimed in just the same time. Toothless had his teeth bared and claws ready to shred, while Hiccup had a small knife at the ready. Rapunzel had a lock of hair in each hand, ready to maneuver in any direction.

Jack pointed his staff slowly upward, and jumped when a blast of black sand dropped at him. Swiftly aiming, he blasted his own ice at where it had come from, only to find Pitch right in front of him. Swinging his staff, he tried to aim for his assailant, but missed as he jumped up and out of the way. Sandman flung his sand at Pitch, but his own attack was met with a shield of black sand. Bunny threw his boomerang, but they were as well dodged. Nightmares exploded all over around them, instantly taking up their attack on the teenagers.

"How interesting it is! To fight the guardians in their own hide out!" Pitch laughed, dodging an arrow from Merida's bow. Toothless flew at the nightmare king and bit at his inky cloak, but was only met with a mouthful of sand. "What's the matter? Can't fight without your little friends helping? Shame." Pitch cackled now, sinking into the ground, and starting up his circle of shadows. They moved around them, daring them to move. Fighting as hard as they could against the nightmares, the eight (plus dragon) all stood at the ready, waiting for an attack from Pitch, but struggled against the seemingly endless nightmares.

"NORTH LOOK OUT!"

The said guardian whipped around just in time to be met with a scythe to his side. With a shout, the guardian of wonder dropped to his knees, dropping his sabers to grasp his side. But he found no wound.

"What?" He looked up to meet the merciless eyes of Pitch Black, and the widest grin he had ever seen on his face. A Cheshire smile if he had ever seen one.

"Got you."

"North!" Jack cried, blasting ice at Pitch, forcing him to duck away from his victim. Jack dashed forward, just dodging one of Merida's arrows to get to his friend's side. "North! What'd he do? What's-" He froze in his trail as he saw that North's entire side had been sucked of all colour, leaving him with a black cloak and grey skin.

"No…" He breathed. "No! North- ya havta fight it- he can't turn you-!"

North looked at him with half transformed eyes, that were going from their normally shimmering blue to a deathly yellow. His beard was turning black and the skin on his nose was grey and spreading.

"It's… too late. I have… a heartbeat… Jack. Get away from… me!" he grunted and breathed heavily as the darkness spread through him.

"BUNNYMUND!" Toothania cried from behind them. Jack turned around just in time to see Pitch smite both Bunny and Toothania with his scythe.

"NO!" Jack screamed, releasing a huge blast of ice that hit a wall of sand. Flashes of dark and light filled and bounced off the walls as Jack and Pitch attacked over and over again. Merida's arrows flew about with deadly accuracy, hitting nightmares and causing them to disintegrate. Toothless and Hiccup flew around the room with terrifying speed, hitting nightmares with little balls of blue fire. Rapunzel fought with a frying pan, whacking and destroying the nightmares easily, but they were being cornered against the back wall.

"Are you scared Jack? Do you finally feel the fear that you've been hiding for so long? The fear of being alone? The fear of being powerless again? Not really being alive?!" Pitch dug and scratched at every insecurity that Jack had ever had in his life as a guardian. Glaring, Jack used the anger within him to fuel his attacks, sending balls of ice flying with as much accuracy as he had ever used in his life. "Are memories starting to fill you? Of being without anyone?"

"I'M. NOT. AFRAID." Jack growled, meeting the scythe with his staff, like a jousting match. Putting both hands on the shaft of his long time weapon, he pushed forward, causing ice to fly. Dozens of nightmares froze and shattered in the crossfire, leaving the others to only have to finish off a few.

"Oh? Well you should be. Oh my new nightmares~! Do finish him off for me!" Pitch disappeared suddenly, leaving Jack face-to-face with North.

He no longer had jolly, rosy cheeks or a cherry red nose and powder white beard. His eyes were cold and calculating, yellow as death and unfeeling as ice. His skin was pale grey, and his beard was black as night, while his fists were clenched around two, black sabers.

"North…" Jack said, lip trembling. But he quickly blocked out all emotion as the two sabers were swung in his direction. Jack blocked them with his staff, a strange muffled clang emanating from the hit. Sliding his staff to the end of the sabers, hitting their hilts, Jack aimed a kick and managed to knock the dark North off of his feet. Turning around, he barley managed to dodge a black boomerang that had flown in the direction of his head. Glancing, he met the owner right in the eye.

"Jack… I can't…" Bunnymund's nose and eyes were still their normal green, grey and white, but the rest of him had turned black and grey. His ears twitched and his arms moved of their own accord, while his eyes had small tears in them, one's he would have never shown under normal circumstance.

"It's okay- I'm gonna fix this." Jack said, doubting his own words as he spotted Toothania, whose beautiful green feathers were transforming into different shades of grey. Her eyes were already yellow and possessed. Her wings were blacker than ink. "It's my fault- I'll- I…" But he found himself knocked over by a blow from behind. Glancing up, he saw North lifting his arm and swinging his saber down at him. 'By the Moon, is this it for me?' He thought. 'Dying at the hands of North?'

CLANG.

**I am so cruel. Forgive. **

**But hey! Tell me what you think! It really get's me going with ideas if you do. ;D**


	12. Chapter 12

**Please understand that this chapter is solely for working on the relationships between the characters. THERE ARE VERY SMALL, SUBTLE HINTS OF JACKXMERIDA HOWEVER THERE WILL BE NO SIGNIFICANT PAIRINGS IN HERE OTHER THAN RAPUNZELXEUGENE. That is basically it... But I really do not want to get your hopes up, it would make me a butt. So do not feel however, that nothing happens in this chapter, because it does. Thank you and have a nice day. Enjoy!**

* * *

Jack looked up from North's terrible new face to see Merida holding one of the original sabers. She held it with practiced grace and fought grip with the nightmarish guardian. Arms shaking, she shoved the dark version of her weapon back and sent Dark North stumbling away.

"Thanks." Jack said, jumping up from the ground and readying his staff to fight. Merida merely nodded from next to him, holding tightly to the handle of the great saber.

"Jack!" Hiccup shouted, landing next to him on Toothless, who sniffed at Jack to check for injuries. "Are you alright?" He asked, jumping off of his scaled steed and holding his hunting knife at the ready.

"Yeah- thanks to Princess here."

"Call me Merida and we can call it even." The said princess grumbled, not taking her eye off of her opponent. "We finished off the black horses. All tha's left are these three." She said. Jack nodded.

"Sandy? Where are you?" Rapunzel called up, looking around for the said Guardian of Dreams. Sandman popped out from behind her, a question mark over his spiked hair. "Oh there you are."

"Sandy, do you think you can reverse the fear stuff in them? Like with me?" The winter spirit asked. Sandman shook his head, multiple signs flashing and disintegrating over his head. Jack frowned. "It's too late huh… well what- NOW?!" the last word was shouted as he blocked an attack coming from behind Merida, a black boomerang just barely missing her head before it froze and exploded with the ice. All turned to see that Tooth and Bunny were completely transformed, creating even more danger for them. And as if to prove him that nothing could get any better, nightmares suddenly sprouted from the ground, surrounding the five. "Get back… don't- whatever you do, don't let any of their weapons touch you. Not even a little brush. Do you understand?" Jack said, stepping forward in front of them.

"Yeah sure- but what about you, Jack? We've seen you get hit before this… and..?" Hiccup inquired, looking to his friend.

"I have no heartbeat. So it doesn't spread quite the same with me." Jack said, not caring at this point what they thought about that. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, just take care of what you can." The others all nodded slowly, and Toothless seemed to take that as the signal to attack. Opening his great maw, he let loose a small ball of fire, hitting two of the nightmares in one shot. With that, an explosion of activity went off.

Jack was suddenly fighting off all three of his friends. Sabers, boomerangs and some sort of staff (he had never seen Toothania with a staff, so he wondered what on earth that was) were being thrown, jabbed and swung at him with every bit of force the Dark Guardians could gather. Jumping, dodging and ducking, Jack avoided every hit as best he could. Every once and a great moment, he would feel something nick at his shoulder and arms, one or two got his leg. Worridly, he fought back with every ounce of energy he had.

Merida, Rapunzel and Hiccup found themselves fighting off countless nightmares. The sandy horses kicked and bit at them, but they were quickly fended off. Sandman did what he could on both sides, turning some of the nightmares to dream sand with his powers and sometimes creating a small shield behind Jack to oncoming blind attacks. He did not notice the shadow moving in behind him.

Jack turned to block another saber attack by Dark North, when he spotted the oncoming danger. "SANDY! LOOK OUT!" he screamed. The golden guardian turned and was met with two glowing yellow eyes, and a black knife to his throat.

"How long ago was it we saw this?" Pitch cackled, looking Sandman in the eye. "Ah- three or so years wasn't it? Does it bring back memories?" Gold turned to black as the darkness spread in Sandman's body. The little man glanced back at his friends, fearful, almost teary eyes meeting pale gray eyes as he looked right at Hiccup, who was the only one in his direct line of sight. Something small was thrown at the dragon rider, who caught it with a small reach of his hand. Then with that, he disappeared in a poof of black.

Jack was speechless for a moment, where time seemed to freeze in such a repeated moment. But that moment was shattered as Pitch turned to look at him and cackled.

"Aw! Look at the poor little spirit! All alone, no one to turn to or help him." He prodded, laughing at the Ice spirit's distraught look. But then frowned as he saw that distraught turn to fury.

Jack launched forward and aimed shot after shot of ice and light at the nightmare king. Fireballs were sent to precise targets and took out multiple nightmares and arrows flew with equal expertise. Jack fought Pitch with the will and strength of a lion, but felt himself being pushed back with just as equal power.

"You can't beat me Jack Frost!" Pitch laughed as he landed a blow with his scythe. Jack ignored the bruising pain and launched again. "The Guardians are gone! No one believes in you! Not without Wonder! Not without their Hopes and Dreams and Memories! What is Fun without any of those? NOTHING!" He laughed, "It's over!"

"It's not over until I say it is." Jack growled. He felt at least four bruising pains all over his body. He knew what that meant at this point, but he didn't want to think about it. Instead, he fueled his anger to fight off Pitch. To fight for his friends. Who were ironically now fighting him.

"Grab him!" Pitch screeched. Jack tried to jump out of the way, but with their powers, the turned Guardians easily caught him. Bunnymund and North easily held his thin arms and Toothania took Jack's beloved staff. The winter spirit fought and tugged, but to no avail.

Pitch smiled and floated down to the trapped spirit. "It does appear that you aren't affected by my sand. At least, not as much." He grinned. "But I sense it. Don't you? The sand spreads in you. Why? Because of your fears. Because you're afraid… to fail. You're afraid of that terrible feeling that you have experienced for three hundred years. Fear fills you, Jack." Pitch seemed to be able to ignore the shouts and clangs of battle that were surrounding them. His silky voice pulling at the poor winter spirit's heart strings and doubt. Jack fought with his friend's grips, but was once again rendered unsuccessful.

"Get out of here." Jack spat, anger still coursing through him. "You got what you wanted."

"Ah, ah, ah. Not quite… you see, there's still one guardian left." He said, going to touch Jack's chest, where he had been shot with the arrow earlier. "I wish to change that."

Suddenly Pitch disappeared in a burst of flames. Jack turned his head, feeling the embers of exploding sand hit his cheeks and burn them. Pitch's angered screams filled the air and then suddenly stopped. Falling to his knees from the lack of grip on his arms, Jack blinked away the light flashes in his eyes and looked up to see Hiccup and Toothless.

The Viking approached him and held out his hand to the winter spirit. Jack gladly took it, looking around the room to see that both princesses were sitting against the wall opposite the room in exhaustion. The nightmares had all disappeared along with Pitch and Jack's fellow Guardians. Not to mention, his staff was gone. Probably taken by Tooth.

"What a mess." Jack groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"I'd say." Merida said from her spot on the floor. "What on earth just- how did he turn em like that?"

"I don't know." Jack groaned, sitting in the giant chair that North had been occupying earlier. His head still rested in his hands, white hair clenched between his thin fingers. "I just don't know."

"Jack…" Rapunzel said, sitting by him. "It'll be okay. We're going to help as much as we can… we were brought here for a reason right?" She suggested. "We'll figure this out."

"Yeah… hey! Sandman threw me this right before… well…" Hiccup said, holding out his hand. Jack looked up and took it from him, glancing down to see what it was. A small golden pouch rested in the palm of his hand, and it said 'good luck' on it. Turning it over, it also read 'I'm sorry'. Jack frowned and opened the pouch, glancing inside.

"It's dream sand. He gave it to me for our wounds I'm guessing." Jack said. "By the way, are you all okay? No injuries?" All of them shook their heads. "That's good."

"And you? I saw you get hurt jack, we all did." Rapunzel said, crossing her arms. "I mean, there are holes in your tunic… thing."

"My hoodie. But it's nothing too bad. I've definitely had worse, and if what he said is true- which I kind of do because it makes sense… and he usually only lies to freak people out, and tells the truth when it's gonna freak them out even more. But basically, if what he said is true, I need to block out all of those stupid fears that I have building up and-!"

"JACK!" all three of his companions interrupted with a slight shout. Snapping his mouth shut, he looked at them.

"Yer panicking. Ya need to calm down." Merida said, leaning her head back against the wall. "That's only gonna build up yer fears."

"What if we used the sand on you?"

"Well without sandy, it's sort of hard to recycle. So I don't want to waste it on me." Jack said with a sigh. "Besides, we don't know what's coming up and if we can use that sand for you in the future. Or the Past. Agh this is weird."

"Didncha say that ya needed ta talk to yer friend in the moon?" Merida suggested. Jack beamed.

"Oh yeah! Why didn't I think of it- lets go!" Grabbing onto Hiccup, who grabbed onto Rapunzel who grabbed onto Merida, Jack leaped up and ran through the huge building at breakneck speed. The two girls- who had yet to get used to being dragged along- screamed the whole way, causing Phil and other Yeti's to shout at them. Hiccup sighed and motioned for Toothless to follow. (who- on another note- hopped across plenty of Christmas toys and knocked them over).

"Here we are!" Jack said with a laugh. "The globe!... room…" Jack noticed that little golden dots were flickering and dying as he spoke all over the great globe. Hopping at an incredible height (he could still do some limited things without his staff- which he made note as a priority to get back) he landed on top of the globe, looking down sadly at the flickering lights.

"jack- what is that?" Rapunzel finally asked, jumping to the top next to him with the help of her hair.

"This is the globe… each light is a kid that believes in us guardians. If all of the lights go out- we lose our powers. Well mostly. But I have found that it doesn't affect me as much as it does them. I guess it's because I went around without any belief for a while. But I do get infinitely weaker." He shrugged. "But see? Some of them keep going out. I can even feel it now… the belief in me just… disappearing." He frowned. "and without my staff… I could be rendered totally useless in all this."

"That's not good." Hiccup sighed. "As far as I can tell- you're the most powerful of all of us.."

"Not true." Jack said, hopping back down and landing next to him. "You really think that? Jeeez… You ride a dragon. She has magic hair and Merry- Merida has the best aim I've ever seen. Not to mention her sword arm. Where'd you learn that?"

"My father." She said simply. Jack nodded. He could believe that.

"And Hiccup, you were really good with a knife. Eugene tried to teach me, but I could never really get the hang of it." Rapunzel said.

"Yeah well- I had to get good- or better I guess- at something from where I am." Hiccup shrugged, not sure of what to say. "But I never would have guessed you could use a cooking pan as a weapon. That's new." He'd have to let Gobber know.

"Yeah- everyone says that." She said, spinning the pan expertly by the handle. (She had much practice) "I didn't realize how much we don't know about each other." She added. Merida and Hiccup nodded in reply.

Jack said nothing, but did notice when a light suddenly shone through the tall window above them. Turning, he saw that the moonlight was brightening with each moment. "M&M! What's going on!? What are we supposed to do?" He asked, causing the other three to drop the conversation he hadn't noticed they were having. "I'm sure you're aware, but North, Bunny, Sandy and Tooth were all taken by Pitch! What can we do?"

The moon's light shifted, showing shadows in the floor. Rapunzel and Merida were unmistakable. An arrow was shown next to them, and then Rapunzel's hair was wrapped around it.

"Infuse the arrow and magical hair? But- her magic didn't get rid of all of the sand last time!" Jack pouted. The shadow then showed Jack, and then small holes in his chest and shoulder. "Oh- I got hit twice. I didn't even think about that. I'm sorry."

Then it showed the other guardians, and the strange dark weapons they possessed. It then showed them on fire. "So Toothless and Hiccup are in charge of that, right? What about me? Am I supposed to just sit by and watch as they fight a battle that started with me?" Shadows shifted, twisted and swirled. Jack watched and frowned as his shadow was shown, fighting Pitch. The other three frowned, noticing that there was something a little off about the whole thing. Another shadow showed some sort of round ball exploding into a sort of big gate portal thing. "Got it." Jack said with a nod, ignoring the knot in his gut.

The beams from the moon died down and there was complete silence, no breath escaping any of the chosen four. The only thing that broke the silence was Toothless scratching behind his ears and huffing a breath from his nose.

"Well now what? How do we find out where Pitch and the others are? How can we even trick them into a situation where we can do everything Mr. Moon said?" Hiccup asked, sitting down on the control desk of the globe. "And another thing Jack-"

"Yeah?"

"Why in the name of Odin was there an arrow sticking out of your back in that last shadow thing?"

Jack was silent again. A thing that none of his new friends really liked to see him being. But he broke out of it before it got scary.

"Maybe because I need to be cleansed of the sand? I don't think M&M thinks I can handle everything going on. And he may be right." He said with a sigh. "But first things first. A plan. PHIL!" he called. A loud "MMMMFRBEL!" Came in response. "Can you get us some paper and pens? And maybe some hot chocolate?!" Another garbled response. "Thanks, you know you love me!"

"Wh- how on earth do ya know what he was sayin'?" Merida asked, looking at Jack.

"Huh? Oh- I dunno. I guess it's cuz we're both sort of winter…myths." He said with a shrug. "Phil and I go way back."

* * *

"-And here we can send in Jack- he still needs his staff, but if we can distract him long enough he could maybe get it back." Rapunzel said, tapping her writing utensil against the paper in front of her.

"It's a good idea- butcha need ta draw Jack a wee bit scrawnier. He's a pole." Merida said, pointing to the small chart that Hiccup had drawn out. "And his ears bigger."

"But I only made him a stick figure." Hiccup pointed out. No detail was put into any of the charts- well except for Rapunzel who had made everything overly perfect for such small plans.

"Exactly."

"Can we ignore how I look and get back to this?" Jack sighed, tapping his finger on the table. The pencil he had was tucked behind his ear and made him somehow seem a little angrier than he really was. "And I do not have big ears."

"Yes ya do. Now- back ta this, the only flaw is that Jack would have to rely completely on an ability ta fly. Can ya even fly without yer stick?" She asked, looking at the irritable Jack Frost.

"No- but I can still jump super high and stuff. It's almost like flying. But that also depends on if Kids still believe in me and the others. Thankfully, the Toothfairies are keeping some of that tided over, and the Yetis are trained to do that too. Bunny doesn't have anything to worry about for another four or five- yeah, five months. So we don't need to worry too much about him. The only problem is Sandy. He isn't spreading dreams, so that really puts me between a rock and a hard place."

"Isn't a rock a hard place?" Rapunzel asked, confused.

"Yes that- whatever nevermind. The point is, I only have powers if they can keep it up." Jack sighed.

"Alright. And the others… do they rely on that too?" Jack nodded at Rapunzel. "Okay. Soooo… now what?"

"Well we've already decided that we need an ambush. We have to assume that the moon will send us to wherever we need to go, but none of us are sure where that is." Hiccup said. "So how about we go over our own hometowns? We sorta have to assume that we're going to be sent to somewhere we've been before… because we were prime targets."

"Good idea." Jack nodded. "But the problem is that if he targets somewhere in my time… it could be literally anywhere on earth."

"True… but I think that's unlikely." Merida said. "I mean, what else could he do damage to here?"

"Yeah- she has a point there Jack." Hiccup said. "Just… draw out a basic layout of your respective homes so that we can know where to take the battle to. That way we can plan offense and defense."

Five minutes later, four drawings were set out in front of the group. Each explained the high points, the lowest areas, the certain meeting points and best areas to avoid. However, Jack had another sort of drawing.

"Jack, what is that?"

"Look! I made mini me's! He're you-!" He held up a small, red headed drawing that had been cut out of the paper. The resemblance was unmistakable, however atrocious. "And Hiccup! And here's Rapunzel! And me!" He playfully placed each of the mini cut outs on their respective maps. "I figured we could use them for like- playing pieces for planning, so we don't havta keep redrawing each other. Genius, right?"

There was silence for a moment as they all looked at him with probably the most blank expressions Jack had ever seen since he suggested penguin sledding to the other Guardians.

"Yeah… Brilliant." Merida finally said, rolling her eyes. "Now back to this-"

* * *

"Ready?" Jack asked, shifting the small globe in his hands. The other three gulped, but all nodded determinedly. Jack nodded, then took the globe, and threw it against the wall. After hours and hours of planning, the four had decided that it was time to put the plan in progress. Thanks to Hiccup, it was basically fail proof. As long as nothing they hadn't expected went wrong anyway. Which it usually did, so they were bracing themselves for anything.

A portal exploded and expanded against the wall, and Jack shifted the small bag of globes by his side. He had two in his pocket for emergencies, but the bigger ones were in a small bag on his shoulder. (Provided by Phil)

"Alright- here we go!" And Jack pushed the three forward, then grabbed Toothless' tail and leaped in after them.

**Please drop by a review! I am working on Ghost rider at the same time as well, so forgive my inconsistent updates. I appreciate the feedback!**


	13. Chapter 13

Entry into wherever they had ended up went about as smoothly as low grain sandpaper. As soon as they exited the portal, Jack, Merida, Hiccup, Rapunzel and Toothless found themselves falling from the sky. Screaming, the four fell, Jack- who was without his staff- struggled to find a way out.

"Toothless! Grab Jack! Jack, grab Merida and Rapunzel! I'll do what I can to get back on the saddle!" Hiccup yelled over the roaring winds. Jack nodded and reached out his slender fingers, and managed to grasp Merida's wrist, and Rapunzel's ankle. Instantly, the two girls curled up to him and held fast to his arms. Hiccup twisted his body around until he was falling with his limbs spread eagle, slowing his decent. Jack summoned what little wind he could without his staff to slow their fall, while Toothless managed to grab Jack's foot with his great paw. Pulling him against his scaly belly, Toothless managed to grasp hold of the three free-fallers.

At last second, Hiccup managed to grasp onto the handle of Toothless' saddle and pull himself over. With a victorious 'click' his prosthetic foot caused the tail fin to open and they jerked to a stop in mid-air. Four sighs of relief were heard as the dragon coasted across the sky.

"Where are we?" Rapunzel shouted up to Hiccup, who was looking around with a keen eye.

"Welcome to Berk." He called back, howling winds pressing against his and his passengers ears. The great dragon veered off to the left, allowing Jack, Merida and Rapunzel to see the village that sat precariously on the isle of Berk.

The place looked very different in the day light. The town was quaint, and had tall poles about that helped hold up things against the wind. Torch lights lined it as well, although not lit. But the remarkable thing was that there were dragons _everywhere. _None of them had ever seen such a sight in all their lives.

"This is amazing!" Rapunzel squealed in delight, holding tightly to Jacks arm still. Merida nodded in agreement from Jack's other side, her red hair momentarily brushing against his jaw and mouth. (where he pretended to spit it out in disgust making 'peh peh peh!' noises)

"It's really cool." The winter spirit agreed, wishing again that he had his staff.

Glancing around, he tried to determine why this was where they were sent. Left, right, ahead… but why…Behind.

Oh. There it was.

"HICCUP! BLACK SHIPS RIGHT BEHIND US!" He called up, hoping that the Viking could hear him.

Hiccup turned around to look and was met, indeed, with the sight of a fleet of ships, sailing right towards Berk. Frowning, he shouted to his passengers.

"HOLD ON TIGHT." And with what Jack could swear was a sonic boom, Toothless shot off towards the town with the speed of light. The two princesses screamed in fright (or exhilaration, or both) as they flew forwards. Nearly colliding with a building, they landed neatly on the ground in the center of the town. A large man- with a hook arm and peg leg- noticed them immediately and dashed over as fast as his legs could take him.

"Hiccup! Where have ya been! Yer father and I have been searchin' for three days since ya led that lunatic away!" Gobber said, looking at his apprentice with a mix of relief and annoyance. "Where've you been?"

"That's for another time… we're under attack! A whole fleet of ships are heading this way!" Hiccup said with urgency. "Where's my dad?"

"Out with Thornado, lookin' fer ya! I'll get the town ready, you find him. He shouldn't be far, he only left a moment ago. Any idea who it is?"

"No clue, probably outcasts." Hiccup said grimly. Gobber nodded and watched him go. "Thanks! I'll go, couldja keep an eye on these th- two as well?" He called, running off in the direction of his dragon, then taking off before anyone could blink. Gobber smiled.

"Do I have a choice?" He laughed. Turning to Rapunzel and Merida, he simply stated. "Let's go" and they were off. Gobber knocked on every door and alerted them to be prepared for confrontation. Merida, Rapunzel and (the unseen) Jack went about with him, unsure of where else to go.

"Can ya fight?" Gobber asked the two girls, who both nodded and readied their weapons. "An archer? I haven't seen one in years. One that could shoot anyway." He added.

"Trust me, I can." Merida said smoothly. "An' if ya have a sword, I can use one of em as well."

"Well here ya go then." Gobber grinned, silver tooth glinting, throwing a blade to the red head. He glanced at Rapunzel, who had donned her frying pan. "An… you?"

"I'm covered." Rapunzel said happily, twirling the pan on her hand expertly. "Plenty of practice here."

"Allll… right then, well at least ya got sommat…. Let's get ta the fron' lines!" Gobber said, charging out his door and to the beaches that lined the town.

The amazing sight, of a fair few younger men and women sitting on dragons took the three guest's breath away. A hundred or so Vikings, tall and stout in stature stood in front of them and held their weapons at the ready. The ships were ahead, and Jack instantly knew that it was no real group of Vikings, or at least they weren't acting on usual motive, especially if the four nightmarish guardians that stood out on the front ship had anything to say about it.

"Yep- those are the outcast ships… wha' in the name of Thor got in there right mind ta just sail on in here? What dunder heads." He said with a frown. "Unless they got sommat else backin' em up?" He seemed to be thinking to himself out loud. "Hiccup had better keep an eye out. Dunno what they'd do at this point."

The ships sailed for another minute or so, then landed, colliding their hulls with the rocky beach. Every muscle tensed, catapults were pulled back and weapons were gripped firmly.

Just as the ships landed, a giant of a man landed on a giant- almost flat- dragon. Hiccup landed just next to him, Toothless practically embodying grace with his movements. Both of them looked powerful and at ease on their dragons, ready for anything. It was almost as if an aura was about them that held authority and strength.

"Is that Hiccup's father?" Merida asked, looking at Gobber, who nodded.

"Knuckleheads both of em." He said with a toothless grin. "but the best leader Berk has ever seen."

Jack, who was invisible to all, was listening with interest, and smiled. He had listened to Hiccup's tale and was in utmost agreement to the statement that the man with interchangeable hands said. And it also solidified his theory that Hiccup was meant to bring much hope and protection to his people.

A giant man hoped off of the ship, walking with every bit of confidence that someone who owned the world. His gigantic beard and large stature made him and the people that followed him look frightening and threatening. Jack doubted that they were to be taken lightly.

Just as the man's feet hit the ground, countless other Vikings jumped off of their following ships. With mighty roars and shouts, they all charged towards the group of villagers. Doing the same, Berkians charged.

Weapons clashed, clangs were heard and shouts of war were sounded. Merida easily took down men without killing, shooting them in their shins and ankles. Rapunzel- to the surprise of Gobber- took down the men with the practiced swings of her frying pan. Hiccup and toothless fought like a one man army… biting at and cutting at the enemy like warm bread. Jack tripped and confused many people with rocks and sticks he found, smirking at the fun he was having with it.

That was- until Jack saw his friends, the Guardians rushing forward. Their dark appearances were truly frightening to him and he shivered a little at the distress he felt from seeing them that way. But then he spotted Toothania, who was holding his staff in her small hands. Grinning, he hopped and leapt over to where she was and judged the area for his next move. He was now standing on a lower piece of ground, in the middle of the fray. She couldn't see him, but he could see her well. She was flitting about, unseen, looking around for the target that had disappeared. Jack waited for the right opportunity to strike, staying still for moments that seemed to drag into hours. Which they may have, he would never know.

Finally, the tooth fairy hovered right above him, and he leapt straight up, grabbing onto her ankles and pulling her down to earth. Men and women battling around them passed through their bodies from their lack of belief and made shivers go down Jack's spine at the familiarity of the feeling. Grappling with her, he took the handle of the staff and yanked back, causing both of them to hit their heads against non-living objects0 rocks and in jack's case, someone's hammer. Dazed, for only a moment, the winter spirit quickly shook his head to gain back his setting and yanked again, slamming Toothania's back and shoulders against the rocky ground, getting her feathers wet in the rising tide.

"SO- RRY- T- OO-TH!" he said between pushes, feeling terrible for the headache it would probably cause her. Finally, he managed to pull it out of her hands, and he jumped up and away from her. She took a moment, but leaped up as well. Looking around, the Guardian of Fun found Merida, who was fighting with her sword now, and winning rather well.

"PRINCESS! I NEED AN ARROW!" He cried, as he was suddenly tackled from the side by the Dark Toothania. Falling to the ground with a loud grunt, Jack fought back with every ounce of strength he had. Kicking and hitting back, using small bursts of ice (which froze some of the men's shoes to the ground- oops) he managed to push her back, and she was quickly joined by Bunnymund. Praying that he could hold his own, Jack froze the Pookah's feet to the ground, apologizing as he did so. (He knew how much Bunny hated the cold)

"JACK." Merida called back, finally. Jack took this moment to jump up in the air and do a double back flip, just in time to catch a shining arrow that had been shot in his direction. Grasping it, and feeling it cut into his skin a bit as he did, Jack landed back on the rocky ground, and shoved the arrow into Bunnymund's arm.

The Guardian of Hope screamed, an un earthly sound if Jack had ever heard one, and golden light spouted from his mouth and eyes. His fur almost instantly lightened from it's dark form, and took on it's old and familiar grey and darker grey shades. The winter spirit whooped in joy, doing backflips and making it snow a bit. (which also confused the battle participants)

The battle continued, Jack trying to get Toothania with the arrow as well, but to no avail. She was too quick and evasive for the shot. Merida had tried as well, but was unable to hit the target. Hiccup continued to battle with the giant of a man, Alvin. Stoick had been occupied by others, and Jack found himself growing to respect and fear the man. He was taking these men out with swift jabs and powerful punches, only using his hammer once or twice in all. Rapunzel had retreated, and was treating some of the injuries (Not with her hair though) while the dragon riders knocked many of the enemy away.

Hiccup was impressive, evading attacks and getting quick jabs in to the outcast's battle. Toothless helped where he could, but the smaller Viking's wit kept him in the battle and in one piece. Until- that was- Alvin pulled one of his cheap shots. Whipping out a small knife that he had hidden in his armour, Alvin jabbed forward and stabbed at Hiccup, and ended up catching his opponent in the leg and arm.

Jack growled, and blasted a huge wave of ice at Alvin, who suddenly found himself covered in snow and ice, his beard almost frozen to his chest and shoulders. Hiccup stumbled back, and watched in a mixture of confusion and satisfaction as Toothless roared into the Viking's face.

"RETREAT!" Alvin finally screamed, seeing that he was outnumbered. The outcasts roared in reply, all following the order without hesitation. Berkians screamed and shouted as they chased the enemy off, yelling for victory. Jack Frost looked up to see Toothania, North and Pitch all glowering down at him and the recovered Easter Bunny.

"We will be back, Frost. And it will be the last time you interfere with me." Pitch snarled. Jack just smiled.

"I don't think so Pitch. As long as you're messing with hope and fun and the future of this world, I'll always interfere." He grinned even wider as Pitch and the others disappeared in a flash of sand. But the smile left.

"One down, three more to go." He sighed, looking down at the Rabbit. The plan- originally- had involved doing all of this in steps. The first was to get his staff. The second was to revive all of the guardians. So the spirit was upset that he had only gotten one and one quarter of those steps done.

"Jack!" Rapunzel shouted, coming to him and throwing her arms around him. "You got the staff! This is great! And Mr. Bunny!"

"Ack- don' call me that. Just Bunny is fine." A voice groaned from below. Both turned to look at bunnymund, who's eyes were fluttering open. "Krikey, that was awful. It was like bein' chewed up and hog tied while fightin' a smart-aleck snow man." He sat up, and yanked the arrow that was shallowly embedded in his arm.

"Oh well you're welcome." Jack said sarcastically. "Remind me to stab you harder next time."

"Can it frostbite." Bunny said. "My feet are freezing! What'd ya freeze my feet for?!"

"I had to get you to stay still for at least a second." Jack shrugged. "And like you said, no one can race a rabbit. So I froze your feet. Pretty brilliant if you ask me."

"Aw rack off show pony." Bunny growled, hitting his feet hard against the ground to try and get feeling back into his toes. "Where are we?"

"We're about four hundred years in the past, give or take, and we're in Berk. This is Hiccup's home."

"Gotcha. And when's the next time travel express plannin' on leavin?" Bunny asked, cricking his neck to the side.

Jack felt a small vibration of sorts come from his small bag, which was slung across his shoulders. Opening the leather pouch, he found that one of the snow globes were glowing and shaking.

"Right after we eat something." Hiccup said, walking with Merida, and throwing some cooked fish to them.

**HIII! Sorry this took so long. :'D anyways, tell me whatcha think! I believe we only have four more chapters, so this'll be fun!**


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